Convenience Stores NAICS 445131, 457110

May 18, 2025 - Lower Summer Gas Prices

• The US Energy Information Administration is forecasting the inflated-adjusted average regular gasoline price this summer to be the lowest since 2020. The summer 2025 average price of about $3.10 per gallon is based on the average of the 2Q25 and 3Q25 US regular gasoline price, when increased travel during the warmer months of the year puts upward pressure on gas prices. Looking ahead to 2026, EIA is forecasting a US average summer retail price of regular gas near $3.20 per gallon. Compared with recent years, lower forecasted US gasoline prices in 2025 and 2026 are mainly a result of lower crude oil prices. The agency expects crude oil prices to continue to fall in 2026, creating a downward effect on gasoline prices, which are an important source of revenue for convenience stores. Falling gas prices depress overall sales for c-stores.
• Convenience and gas retailers can anticipate heavy traffic this Memorial Day weekend as a record 39.4 million people are expected to travel by car over a five-day period (May 22-26), according to AAA. If that projection holds up, it would be an increase of 1 million travelers over last year. Driving is the preferred mode of transportation during holiday travel periods, with 87% of Memorial Day travelers opting to take road trips. Motorists will see cheaper gas prices this summer, according to EIA estimates. Last Memorial Day, the national average for a gallon of regular was $3.59, compared to about $3.19 in mid-May 2025. This spring lower crude oil prices have softened typical seasonal spikes in gasoline prices. With the unofficial start of summer kicking off the busy driving season, demand is expected to rise and pump prices may creep up along with it, according to AAA.

• Convenience store sales could get a boost if legislation to permanently allow the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to cover hot food purchases becomes law, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), which supports the bill. The bipartisan Hot Foods Act, reintroduced in the House in March, would allow SNAP – the food assistance program covering 22 million low-income families – to cover hot food purchases. Currently, SNAP limits purchases to food that needs to be prepared at home before it’s consumed. According to NACS, c-stores are often the only retail locations that are easily accessible by walking or public transportation, or the only locations with extended or 24/7 hours of operation. Food is a bright spot for c-stores, whose overall sales declined last year. Foodservice – which include 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 c-stores in 2024, per NACS.
• Major convenience stores operators – Wawa, Casey’s, and 7-Eleven – are targeting coffee drinkers with updated coffee programs and promotions, C-Store Dive reports. While c-stores are well positioned to profit from coffee sales with hot dispensed beverages accounting for more than 9% of foodservice sales and margins over 66%, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores, soaring coffee prices threaten to pinch margins on coffee sales. In January, the retail price of ground coffee hit a record high of $7 per pound, up from $4 in January 2020, according to government data. Growing demand amid supply shortages in top producing countries means fewer beans on the market. But relief may be insight. A recent poll by Reuters predicted that Arabica coffee prices could fall 30% by the end of the year, as high prices curb demand and early signs point to a bumper Brazilian crop next year.