Convenience store sales hit new high in 2022; so do operating costs

Propelled by foodservice, in-store convenience store sales hit a new record in 2022.

Total convenience industry sales totaled $906.1 billion in 2022, of which $302.8 were from in-store sales, according to newly released NACS State of the Industry data for 2022. In-store sales, which rose 9% year-over-year, accounted for 33.4% of industry sales.

Packaged beverages, other tobacco products, salty snacks, candy and packaged sweet snacks all had double-digit sales growth year-over-year. The average basket — what customers spend per visit — increased 4.9% to $7.52.

Operating Costs Increase

Despite positive sales growth, direct store operating expenses climbed, putting pressure on retailers. Credit card swipe fees at an industry level, have increased a staggering 82% between 2020 and 2022 and now stand at $19.5 billion.

Labor costs also increased in 2022. Average wages increased 9.1% for full-time and 12.6% for part-time employees to $14.33 per hour and $14.02 per hour, respectively. (The convenience store industry provides 2.44 million jobs across the United States in 2022.)

More insights on employee wages and benefits are available in the NACS State of the Industry Compensation Report® of 2022 Data, which was released in March.

Overall, the industry paid or collected $207 billion in taxes, or 22.8% of all sales dollars at convenience stores in 2022. On a per-store basis, taxes collected averaged $1.4 million. It’s estimated that stores also paid $4.3 billion in swipe fees on these taxes collected for the local, state and federal governments.

In-Store Sales Growth

The strong in-store sales came as the result of several factors, including a 1.5% increase in the convenience industry store count to 150,174 stores. The growth was fueled by an increase in single-store operators, which increased 1,087 to 90,423 stores (60.2% of all convenience stores).

Also, inflationary pressures pushed prices higher in 2022. The annual merchandise CPI increased 7.9% and the foodservice CPI increased 9.7% last year.

Another factor increasing in-store sales was the continued growth of foodservice as industry operators continue to focus on providing restaurant-quality food. Average foodservice sales represented 25.6% of average, monthly in-store sales and 36.1% of in-store gross margin. 

Convenience store foodservice includes prepared food, commissary, and hot, cold, and frozen dispensed beverages. Prepared food accounted for 67.3% of all foodservice sales in 2022, while commissary contributed 9.5%, followed by hot dispensed beverages at 9.2%, cold dispensed at 8.0%, and frozen dispensed at 6.0%.

At an industry level, convenience store transactions also increased 8.5% in 2022, following an 8.8% increase in 2021 as the country emerged from the economic slowdown related to the pandemic. The two-year positive in-store transaction growth trends reverses a pre-pandemic five-year trend of declining performance.

Fuel Sales

Convenience stores, which sell an estimated 80% of the fuel purchased in the country, saw fuels sales increase 41.2% reach $603.2 billion, largely as a result of higher gas prices, which increased 33.7% to $4.04 in 2022. Fuel volumes for the industry in 2022 remained relatively flat at only +0.7%.

The industry metrics were released during the 2023 NACS State of the Industry Summit, the industry’s most comprehensive data, benchmarking, categorical and industry trends event. The SOI Summit is taking place April 18-20 in Dallas, Texas, with record retailer and supplier attendance.