U.S. C-store Landscape Q1 2024

The convenience channel outpaced other multi-outlet (MULO) channels in many top categories in Q1 2024, but lagged MULO growth in total store. Despite a decline in the number of trips to convenience, there was growth in dollars and units per trip compared to last year. Looking ahead to the summer, the p.m. snack daypart will be a key battleground, as many traditional QSR lunch and dinner chains use innovation to increase store count and enter the snack market.

Highlights: 

• Convenience channel dollar sales grew 1% while MULO’s grew 2.5%. MULO (+0.9%) also outperformed c-stores (-2.1%) in unit sales for the quarter.
• Convenience outperformed MULO in year-over-year dollar sales in top categories like cigarettes and other tobacco products. MULO dollar sales outpaced c-stores for beer and candy. 
• Convenience private label sales decreased 0.9% year over year in convenience while name brands increased 2.2%. 
• Foodservice remains an emphasis for many retailers in the convenience channel. Although convenience foodservice traffic decreased 5.0% year over year in Q1 2024, the channel outperformed QSR in the p.m. snack daypart. 
• Promos and sweepstakes can be leveraged by convenience retailers and manufacturers to increase customer traffic during critical summer months.