Cigarettes make great stocking stuffers

As Target and virtually every other retailer sought to position themselves this week as the perfect destination for last-minute holiday gifts, convenience stores also portrayed themselves as a solution for procrastinators. Or, at least that was the objective of the National Association of Convenience Stores, which issued a press release in the aftermath of the major East Coast snow storm touting convenience stores as an alternative to crowded shopping malls, long lines and congested parking lots. The trade group contends the nation’s 145,000 convenience stores, many of which are open on Christmas day, are the ideal venue for last minute gifts such as candy, chocolate, batteries, ice scrapers, magazines, lottery tickets, phone cards, gift cards, refill mugs and coffee. Cigarettes, which now cost upwards of $5 a pack, did not make the list, even though they are a staple of the convenience store product mix and would tuck nicely into a stocking.

Target stores are closed Christmas Day and only open until 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve.