Dive Summary:
- Convenience stores saw a 4.6% increase in customers in the final quarter of last year, while sales were up on average $.31 per person.
- In a new report by the NPD Group, this can be mostly attributed to lower gas prices as many convenience stores are connected to gas stations.
- The sales increase may be attributed to inflation, as soda, alcohol and cigarette sales increased while magazine and newspaper sales decreased.
From the article:
Not only did convenience store visits increase, but the amount consumers spent per visit also increased by 31 cents. The increase may be attributed to a combination of inflation and changes in the mix of products as the average amount of products purchased remained the same. Data found 58% of shoppers purchased a non-alcoholic beverages—one-third of which bought canned or bottled beverages, while 14.2% purchased dispensed beverages. Alcoholic beverages, fresh food, cigarettes and tobacco grew most, while lottery tickets, newspapers, magazines and books had the largest year-over-year decline.
