Step right up to the $837.4 billion economic engine that fuels America's daily commute and quick cravings, where convenience stores aren't just pit stops but powerhouse retailers.
Key Takeaways
- U.S. convenience stores generated $837.4 billion in total in-store and fuel sales in 2023
- The convenience store industry saw a 2.8% increase in total sales from 2022 to 2023 reaching $837.4 billion
- Fuel sales accounted for 52% of total convenience store revenue in 2023 at $435.2 billion
- Beverages category grew 4.3% to $55.8 billion in 2023
- Cigarettes remained the top category at $60.1 billion despite 8.2% decline in 2023
- Snacks category sales increased 6.2% to $37.4 billion in 2023
- Gasoline volume sold at c-stores was 77.2 billion gallons in 2023
- Average fuel price was $3.52 per gallon at c-stores in 2023
- Fuel sales revenue totaled $435.2 billion, up 1.4% in 2023
- Average customer visits per store 3,200 daily in 2023
- 70% of c-store customers are repeat weekly visitors in 2023
- Foodservice purchases made by 42% of c-store customers daily in 2023
- Total c-store employees numbered 1.95 million in 2023
- Average wage per employee $16.45 per hour in 2023
- 65% of stores operate 24 hours daily in 2023
The convenience store gas station industry had record sales with fuel remaining its most important revenue source.
Consumer and Traffic
- Average customer visits per store 3,200 daily in 2023
- 70% of c-store customers are repeat weekly visitors in 2023
- Foodservice purchases made by 42% of c-store customers daily in 2023
- Average basket size $6.23 for combined fuel and inside in 2023
- 62% of customers buy beverages on every visit in 2023
- Millennial/Gen Z represent 48% of c-store shoppers in 2023
- 55% of traffic during peak morning hours 6-9 AM in 2023
- Female customers 51% of total c-store traffic in 2023
- Mobile app usage for payments 28% of transactions in 2023
- Loyalty program members 65% of customers in 2023
- Average dwell time inside store 4.2 minutes in 2023
- 38% of customers buy snacks on impulse in 2023
- Weekend traffic 25% higher than weekdays in 2023
- 72% of fuel buyers also purchase inside items in 2023
- Contactless payments 47% of inside transactions in 2023
- Hispanic consumers 22% of c-store traffic in 2023
- Average age of c-store customer 41 years in 2023
- 29% growth in female foodservice buyers since 2020 in 2023
- Prime drive times account for 60% of daily traffic in 2023
- 81% of customers value speed of service in 2023 survey
- Inside-only purchases 35% of transactions in 2023
- Urban c-stores see 15% higher traffic than rural in 2023
- 67% of customers use c-stores for quick meals in 2023
- Transaction growth 3.2% to 162 billion in 2023
Consumer and Traffic Interpretation
It is a relentless, caffeinated ballet of loyalty and impulse where a staggering 3,200 daily patrons, over half of whom are in a morning sprint, are deftly separated from an average of $6.23 in just over four minutes, primarily for fuel, a beverage, and the sudden, undeniable need for a taquito.
Fuel and Gas Sales
- Gasoline volume sold at c-stores was 77.2 billion gallons in 2023
- Average fuel price was $3.52 per gallon at c-stores in 2023
- Fuel sales revenue totaled $435.2 billion, up 1.4% in 2023
- Gasoline represented 92% of fuel volume sold in 2023
- Diesel sales volume 6.1 billion gallons at c-stores in 2023
- Average gross profit per gallon on gasoline was 19.8 cents in 2023
- 78.3% of c-stores offered diesel in 2023
- Ethanol-blended gasoline was 94.2% of all gasoline sold in 2023
- E85 sales volume 165 million gallons in 2023 at c-stores
- EV charging stations at 12,403 c-store locations in 2023
- 82% of c-stores with fuel had 8 or more fueling positions in 2023
- Average fuel sales per store $2.86 million in 2023
- Premium gasoline share of sales 22.4% in 2023
- Midgrade gasoline 14.7% of volume in 2023
- Regular gasoline 62.9% of sales volume in 2023
- Fuel transactions averaged 2.1 million per store annually in 2023
- Pay-at-the-pump used in 85% of fuel transactions in 2023
- Average gallons per fuel transaction 9.8 in 2023
- CNG/LNG stations at 1,200 c-store sites in 2023
- Biodiesel offered at 15% of c-store fuel sites in 2023
- Fuel profit contribution 28% of total gross profit in 2023
- Gasoline demand declined 2.1% in volume 2023
- Diesel margins averaged 25.4 cents per gallon in 2023
- 65% of c-stores offer 24-hour fueling in 2023
- EV chargers grew 45% to 12,403 sites in 2023
- Convenience stores captured 58% of U.S. fuel market share in 2023
Fuel and Gas Sales Interpretation
In 2023, America’s convenience stores, by deftly converting their colossal, 77-billion-gallon river of gasoline into a surprisingly modest 19.8-cent trickle of profit per gallon, proved they’re really just in the business of using fuel to lure you inside for a vastly more profitable gallon of milk and a lottery ticket.
Operations and Employment
- Total c-store employees numbered 1.95 million in 2023
- Average wage per employee $16.45 per hour in 2023
- 65% of stores operate 24 hours daily in 2023
- Average store employs 12.8 FTEs in 2023
- Labor costs 28.4% of total operating expenses in 2023
- Self-checkout installed in 22% of c-stores in 2023
- Theft losses averaged $1,200 per store monthly in 2023
- 45% of operators reported labor shortages in 2023 survey
- Average turnover rate 112% annually in 2023
- POS systems upgraded in 58% of stores since 2020 by 2023
- Energy costs 8.2% of expenses in 2023
- 76% of c-stores use CCTV surveillance in 2023
- Food prep equipment in 68% of stores in 2023
- Average rent/occupancy cost 9.1% of sales in 2023
- AI inventory management in 15% of chains in 2023
- 92% acceptance of credit/debit cards in 2023
- Average training hours per employee 24 annually in 2023
- Renewable energy used by 12% of c-stores in 2023
- Drive-thru lanes at 18% of stores in 2023
- Shrinkage rate 1.8% of sales in 2023
- 55% of operators plan expansion in next 5 years per 2023 survey
- Delivery services offered by 32% of urban c-stores in 2023
- Utility costs rose 7.4% year-over-year in 2023
- 41% female workforce in c-stores in 2023
Operations and Employment Interpretation
We are an industry powered by 1.95 million people, many of whom we can't seem to keep for more than a year, all while trying to guard the slushies from an army of thieves on a budget barely above them.
Product Sales (Inside)
- Beverages category grew 4.3% to $55.8 billion in 2023
- Cigarettes remained the top category at $60.1 billion despite 8.2% decline in 2023
- Snacks category sales increased 6.2% to $37.4 billion in 2023
- Packaged sweets sales reached $20.1 billion, up 5.4% in 2023
- Salty snacks sales were $17.3 billion, growing 7.1% in 2023
- Candy sales totaled $12.8 billion with 4.9% growth in 2023
- Foodservice overall sales hit $65.2 billion, 21.5% of in-store in 2023
- Prepared foodservice sales grew 9.1% to $32.7 billion in 2023
- Hot beverages sales were $6.2 billion, up 3.8% in 2023
- Energy drinks sales reached $10.4 billion, 18.6% of beverages in 2023
- Carbonated soft drinks sales $15.7 billion, down 1.2% in 2023
- Sports/energy drinks grew 12.3% to $10.4 billion in 2023
- Bottled water sales $9.8 billion, up 6.7% in 2023
- Beer sales totaled $18.9 billion in c-stores in 2023
- Wine sales grew to $4.2 billion, up 8.1% in 2023
- Other tobacco products (OTP) sales $14.5 billion, up 4.3% in 2023
- Alternative nicotine products like vapes reached $3.7 billion in 2023
- Health/energy bars sales $2.9 billion, growing 11.2% in 2023
- Fresh food sales increased 7.8% to $8.4 billion in 2023
- Frozen/refrigerated food sales $11.2 billion, up 5.9% in 2023
- OTC pharmaceuticals sales $6.7 billion in 2023
- Personal care products $4.1 billion, up 3.2% in 2023
- General merchandise $3.5 billion sales in 2023
- Lottery was 15% of in-store sales at $45.3 billion in 2023
Product Sales (Inside) Interpretation
The American convenience store now functions less like a simple pit stop and more like a one-stop temple of vice and vitality, where our collective craving for a quick sugar rush, a nicotine fix, and a hopeful lottery ticket is only narrowly outpaced by our sudden, guilt-driven interest in fresh food and energy bars.
Revenue and Market Size
- U.S. convenience stores generated $837.4 billion in total in-store and fuel sales in 2023
- The convenience store industry saw a 2.8% increase in total sales from 2022 to 2023 reaching $837.4 billion
- Fuel sales accounted for 52% of total convenience store revenue in 2023 at $435.2 billion
- In-store merchandise sales hit a record $302.5 billion in 2023, up 5.7% from 2022
- Average gross margin for convenience stores was 38.7% on in-store sales in 2023
- Total number of convenience stores in the U.S. stood at 152,255 in 2023
- The top 10 convenience store chains accounted for 22.7% of total industry sales in 2023
- Convenience store foodservice sales reached $65.2 billion in 2023, representing 21.5% of in-store sales
- Packaged beverages generated $55.8 billion in sales in 2023, the largest in-store category at 18.5%
- Cigarettes sales declined to $60.1 billion in 2023, down 8.2% from prior year
- Average annual sales per store reached $5.5 million in 2023
- Industry profit margins averaged 4.2% in 2023 after expenses
- Foodservice prepared sales grew 9.1% to $32.7 billion in 2023
- Total U.S. gas station revenue was $632 billion in 2022
- Convenience stores with fuel represented 80% of all U.S. c-stores in 2023
- Average fuel profit margin was 19.8 cents per gallon in 2023
- In-store sales per customer transaction averaged $3.45 in 2023
- Total industry sales grew at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2018-2023
- Top 202 chains generated $275 billion in 2023
- Alternative fuels sales contributed $2.1 billion in 2023
- Snacks/candy sales hit $37.4 billion, up 6.2% in 2023
- Average store size was 2,821 square feet in 2023
- E-commerce penetration in c-stores was under 1% of sales in 2023
- Lottery sales totaled $45.3 billion across c-stores in 2023
- Gross profit from fuel was $31.2 billion in 2023
- In-store sales growth was led by foodservice at 9.1% in 2023
- Total U.S. gas stations numbered 113,802 in 2023
- Industry EBITDA margin averaged 6.8% in 2022
- Prepared food sales per store averaged $214,800 in 2023
- Total sales from top 10 states represented 45% of industry in 2023
Revenue and Market Size Interpretation
The convenience store has mastered the art of the profitable pitstop, where we begrudgingly pay a premium for a tank of gas that lures us inside to impulsively buy a record-breaking amount of snacks and surprisingly decent prepared food, all while the real money is made on a 38.7% markup on that soda you didn't need but now desperately crave.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CONVENIENCEconvenience.orgVisit source
- Reference 2CSPDAILYNEWScspdailynews.comVisit source
- Reference 3NACSMAGAZINEnacsmagazine.comVisit source
- Reference 4STATISTAstatista.comVisit source
- Reference 5IBISWORLDibisworld.comVisit source
- Reference 6AFDCafdc.energy.govVisit source
- Reference 7EIAeia.govVisit source