Convenience Stores NAICS 445131, 457110

Aug 18, 2025 - Falling Candy & Snack Sales

• Inflation took a bite out of convenience store candy and snack sales last year, according to Convenience Stores News’ 2025 “Deep Dive” Candy & Snacks report. Candy and snack sales at c-stores declined in 2024 compared to 2023, with average candy sales per store down 2.8% and average sales per store of salty snacks down 1.1%. Sales of chocolate bars/packs declined 3.5% year over year amid record high prices for cocoa. However, sales of nonchocolate bars/packs fell even more – down 6.3% YoY, per the report. In the snack category, the nuts/seeds segment saw the most growth in per-store sales at 2.2%, but stayed fairly low in actual dollars. More than half (56%) of those surveyed said the price of candy at c-stores is too high, while 60% said the same for packaged snacks, according to the report.
• The convenience store industry is taking a multipronged approach to combat rising retail crime that combines technology, employee training, store design, and community engagement to enhance safety and security, Convenience Store News (CSN) reports. Massachusetts-based EG America combines physical security enhancements including AI-connected security cameras, and other connected products such as sirens, alarms, panic buttons and safety sensors, with behavioral deterrents and data analytics to deter crime and protect assets at its 1,500-plus stores. It also employs reusable security devices to protect high-theft items like beverage alcohol, loitering detection technology, and internal messaging systems for employees to discreetly request assistance, according to CSN. Some stores at high risk for theft have mobile security units. Low staffing during off-peak hours creates operational risk, the EG America Retail Asset Protection Team told CSN. Employee training in de-escalation techniques and emergency response protocols are other important tools.

• Frozen food and alcoholic beverages were among the top growth categories for US convenience stores in the first quarter, according to the Q1 2025 NACS NIQ Global Convenience Store Industry Report published in July. Sales of frozen food rose 24.3% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, while wine and liquor sales rose by 11.8% and 8.5%, respectively. Those three categories posted the strongest growth in the previous quarter as well. The two new additions to the top growth category in Q1 were frozen dispensed beverages (+12.9%) and cold dispensed beverages (+7.3%), which replaced other deli & dairy products and ice from the prior quarter. In Canada, the expansion of alcohol sales in Ontario drove liquor sales up more than 300% year over year, per the report.
• Producer prices for gasoline stations rose 6% in June compared to a year ago, after rising 7.1% in the previous June-versus-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. At the retail level, July ended with the average price of a gallon of gas at $3.15, the same as it was in July 2021, the last time summer gas prices were so low, according to AAA data. Employment by convenience stores was flat year over year in May, while the average industry wage fell 1.3% over the same period to $16.50 per hour, BLS data show.