Prepared food powers the 22nd consecutive record year of in-store sales at U.S. convenience stores.
Foodservice in U.S. convenience stores continues to set brands apart by offering diverse and exciting menu options. It also drove in-store sales to record levels in 2024, according to newly released data from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
“Foodservice sales, which includes prepared food; commissary; and hot, cold, and frozen dispensed beverages, accounted for 28.7% of in-store sales and 39.6% of in-store gross margin dollars at convenience stores in 2024,” according to NACS. “Most foodservice sales are from prepared food, and that share has grown over the last five years. In 2024, prepared food accounted for 68.4% of foodservice sales.”
Foodservice sales have seen remarkable growth over the past 20 years.
“In 2004, 11.9% of in-store sales came from foodservice. Food-forward strategies at convenience stores are driving trips and enhancing customer experience,” said NACS.
Despite sluggish convenience store sales over the first half of 2024, “strong foodservice and merchandise sales over the second half pushed overall sales to a record $335.5 billion, a 2.4% increase over the year prior and the 22nd consecutive year of record in-store sales.
“Convenience stores, which sell an estimated 80% of the fuel purchased in the U.S., saw total fuels revenues decrease 5.7% to $501.9 billion as a result of a 6.5% decrease in the average gas price ($3.31 in 2024 vs. $3.55 in 2023 ). Total gallons sold increased slightly by 0.8%. Total convenience store sales, including fuels and in-store items, were $837.4 billion in 2024.”
Among the top ten in-store merchandise categories (excluding foodservice), all but one saw positive sales and gross profit growth in 2024: cigarettes. “Although convenience stores are the preferred channel for nicotine consumers, more operators are increasingly focusing on categories such as foodservice and beverages,” said NACS.
For beverages, convenience stores are the go-to destination. “Beverages are a convenience store juggernaut and the ultimate grab-and-go product, with more than 80% of shoppers consuming their beverage of choice within an hour of purchasing.
“Packaged beverages (which excludes beer, wine, and liquor) accounted for 17.9% of in-store sales and 21.2% of gross profit dollars in 2024. The synergies of key categories are significant as more than one third (37.4%) of customers who purchased packaged beverages also purchased prepared food in the same trip,” according to the NACS Convenience Voices program. Foodservice plus packaged beverages accounted for 60.8% of in-store profit dollars in 2024.
“Energy drinks lead packaged beverage sales, representing 27.8% of overall category dollars, followed by carbonated soft drinks (26%), sports drinks (15%) and bottled water (12.4%). Iced tea, juices, enhanced water and all other packaged beverages combined for of the remainder of category sales.”
Expenses for convenience stores increased 5.2% in 2024; however, the rate of growth slowed for the second consecutive year. Credit and debit card swipe fees increased 0.2% in 2024 despite lower gas prices. “Most c-store customers used cards for purchases – both inside the store and on the forecourt – with 80.8% of total sales in 2024 transacted with cards. This number has grown 7.3 points since 2020,” said NACS.
The U.S. convenience store count is 152,255 stores, a slight decrease of 141 stores (0.1%) compared to the 2024 store count, according to the 2025 NACS/NIQ TDLinx Convenience Industry Store Count. The number of convenience stores selling fuel increased 1.5% to 121,852 stores.
The convenience store industry’s 2024 performance numbers were released during the NACS State of the Industry Summit, the industry’s premier event for analysis industry performance and trends that could impact the industry in 2025.
