Independent Retail Industry Overview
Independent retailers historically have grown by 3-4 percent annually. Foodservice leads in-store sales growth with 6-percent gain in sales of prepared food and hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverages.
Sales in the United States
Retailers predict an expected 6% increase in dollar sales and a 4.5% increase in volume. Of those retailers that were surveyed, the majority of sales come by foodservice between hot, cold, and frozen beverages.
While independent convenience store owners are in agreement about the category’s future that they expect several trends in the market to increase the cart value this year. Many of these retailers indicated that customers are shopping for healthier options and cleaner labels.
Due to Wawa’s success marketing c-stores as a food destination, more customers are coming into stores in search of their convenient everyday items as well as a quick snack.
Growth & Outlook Report
Convenience stores have an unmatched speed of transaction: The average time it takes a customer to walk in, purchase an item, and depart is between 3 to 4 minutes.
What Items do C-Stores Carry
Sell Fuel
Sell Food
Sell Beverages
The Future of Retail
An overwhelming 93 percent of c-store industry suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and brokers said they are heading into the new year with a positive view on the U.S. economy. On the flip side, only 1.7 percent hold a negative view of the economy, with 5.3 percent remaining neutral, according to the Convenience Store News Forecast Study.
Digging deeper, of this year’s supplier respondents who say they hold a favorable view of the U.S. economy, more than half indicated they feel “very positive.”
And the economy is not the only bright spot among the supplier community. Survey respondents also feel good about their respective product categories. More than half (52.6 percent) said they are “very positive” and what’s more, zero respondents indicated they are very negative about their category.
The suppliers that participated in the Forecast Study give the convenience channel top marks among the retails channels they work in. Specifically, 92.9 percent rate the convenience channel as positive, compared to 59.6 per- cent for mass merchandise, 56.3 percent for drug, and 56 percent for grocery.
Looking to the coming 12 months, c-store industry suppliers are split about what will be the biggest keys to their success. Roughly one-quarter point to growth in consumer spending, while a nearly equal number points to retailer unit expansion.
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Future Outlook for C-Store Retail
Positive
0%
Neutral
0%
Negative
0%
Independent Convenience Stores in the United States & Canada
The retailers interviewed for this surveyed are kept anonymous
Our grocery & convenience store distributors are looking to carry new product lines and we are on the phone with them every week learning about their routes and the opportunities that they see in the market. They use Mr. Checkout is a way to connect with vendors & suppliers who have a great product for the stores that they service.
We also give you the tools to work with independent distributors including knowledge into the types of products they carry, such as ethnic foods, organic, tobacco, dry goods, alcohol, gasoline brands, their specialty departments like auto supplies or lottery, and if they contain foodservice operations. Our convenience store industry market research gives you the inside data necessary for targeting convenience store distributors and supporting your sales program.
By The Numbers
From our latest Growth & Outlook Report, we have surveyed over 500 independent sales representatives and manufacturers representatives.
Independent Convenience Stores in the United States
152,720
Foodservice
0%
Alternative Snacks
0%
Salty Snacks
0%
Beverages
0%
E-Cigs
0%
Beer
0%
Candy
0%
Grocery
0%
Fuels
0%
Cigarettes
0%
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