Convenience store value sales in the third quarter of 2024 increased year over year, as 24 of 33 reported countries experienced gains in sales versus a year ago, according to the NACS/NIQ Q3 2024 Global Convenience Store Industry Report.
The report measures convenience store value sales across several markets, including the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
Among the 24 countries registering growth, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe each had eight countries. Most countries (21 of 32) posted improved growth in Q3 2024 versus the previous quarter. This was a marked improvement from Q2 2024, where only five countries had improved growth versus the prior quarter.
“Our global reports, developed in partnership with NIQ, provide quarterly snapshots of sales from dozens of countries around the world and a centralised overview of some of the top trends in convenience retailing that are already redefining markets,” said NACS President and CEO Henry Armour.
“With an increasingly global market, trends – whether opportunities or threats – can quickly spread across the world
US spotlight
The US was one of the markets to experience decline in the quarter. US convenience store value was down 2.2%, and unit sales performance was down 6.3% in Q3 2024.
Inflationary pressures remained elevated for convenience stores in the US versus the remaining market as average unit prices in convenience stores grew 4.3% while average unit prices in the remaining market grew just 1.2%.
Convenience store promotion support in the US grew at a similar rate as the remaining market, but promotional levels in convenience stores (21.2% of unit sales were sold on promotion) remained below the remaining market (31.4% of units were sold on a promotion).
Frozen food delivered the best value sales growth in Q3 2024 (+18%), followed by wine (+9.7%), frozen dispensed beverages (+9.4%), other dairy and deli products (+9.2%) and liquor (+8.7%).
Hot dispensed beverages (-13.7%) had the largest value sales decline on the top five “what’s not” list, followed by food service prepared onsite (-8.8%), fluid milk products (-7%), packaged bread (-6.1%) and packaged sweet snacks (-6.1%).
Published quarterly by NIQ and NACS, the Global Convenience Store Industry Report
focuses on global, regional, and country-level views of the convenience channel. It helps convenience channels understand changing consumer dynamics, uncover the issues impacting consumers globally, showcase opportunities and challenges in the industry, and contribute to a unified understanding of trends impacting individual trade areas for the global convenience store industry.
