Four out of five shoppers do not consider price as the most important factor when shopping in a c-store, according to a new study from HIM.

The Convenience Tracking Programme study into price and promotions in c-stores interviewed nearly 1,700 shoppers exiting convenience stores in mid-October.

When asked if price was the most important factor in shopping at the store, only 20% of the total sample answered yes. The figure was slightly higher for multiple chain outlets (25%) than for symbol group stores (18%).

On average, if a product cost £1 in a supermarket customers said they would be prepared to pay £1.14 for it in a c-store. However, only 51% said that they knew the price of their purchases, and only 44% checked the prices before deciding what to buy.

The study also revealed that spending trends in c-stores are on an upward curve. While 62% of customers said they were spending the same on their c-store shopping compared with six months ago, 21% said they were spending more, with only 9% spending less.

Roughly one in three customers said they were likely to select products with a rounded price point, with the ease of budgeting cited as the main reason for doing so. A similar number of shoppers said they were more likely to purchase a pricemarked product over a similar product without a flash.