Snack sales are on the rise in 2023, and retailers hold a strong outlook for the category going forward as brands introduce continued innovation that keeps customers coming back for more. The salty, sweet and better-for-you snack segments are seeing strong dollar sales growth, partly driven by price increases in the category. For salty snacks,…
3 Keys to Growing C-Store Foodservice
As the line between convenience retailers, restaurants and grocery blurs, c-stores have a unique opportunity to meet several demands — food, fuel, home products and even groceries — in one fell swoop. But to compete with quick-service restaurants (QSRs) on the food front, convenience stores will need to continue to strategically invest in and expand…
TXB Named CSD’s 2023 Chain of the Year
CStore Decisions is proud to announce Texas Born (TXB) as our 2023 Convenience Store Chain of the Year. The Spicewood, Texas-based family-owned chain exemplifies operational excellence, strong leadership and a people-centric culture. “CStore Decisions’ Chain of the Year Award recognizes retail excellence, and TXB has earned a place in this rich tradition as the 34th…
Vape Generates $7 Billion for C-Stores
The vape category continues to cope with regulatory shifts, including ongoing premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) uncertainty. While some retailers are bullish on the category, recent data from Circana highlights challenges for the segment. Between April 23, 2022, and April 23, 2023, electronic smoking devices — including e-cigarettes, vape kits and mods, for example —…
Spitless Tobacco Unit Sales Boosted 30.4%
Smokeless tobacco sales at c-stores continue to rise, lifted by sales of tobacco-free nicotine pouches as sales of moist smokeless tobacco dip. As they look ahead, retailers are watching flavor regulations as well as inflationary pressures that are pushing customers to trade down both within the smokeless segment and the tobacco category as a whole.…
Cigarettes Notch Over $54 Billion in Sales at C-Stores
There are many ways to assess the state of the cigarette category within the convenience store industry. On one hand, there’s no denying the customer base continues to tighten. In late April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its latest findings of smoking rates and concluded that only 11% of adults currently…
Tobacco Sales Remain in the Billions, Despite Price Surges
As the battle against Big Tobacco continues to wage, c-store retailers are bracing against pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, an onslaught of state and local legislation and rising inflation, all the while working to adjust their backbars to comply with the latest mandates and still maximize sales. As potential restrictions from FDA on…
Smoking Accessories Set to Hit $6.3 Billion by 2030
Tobacco accessories are holding their own in c-stores despite ongoing inflation and price increases in the segment and across the tobacco categories. In fact, many convenience store retailers spy an opportunity to expand business in the accessories segment inside the 22 states (plus Washington, D.C.) where adults can buy or possess cannabis recreationally. The convenience…
Tobacco’s Tumultuous Road
In 2009, a few months after I joined CStore Decisions magazine (CSD), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was given the authority to regulate tobacco products when the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law that June. That August it launched the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). In the 14 years…
A Place for CBD
While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to evaluate cannabidiol (CBD) to determine a new regulatory pathway for CBD in foods and supplements, customers are nonetheless still purchasing CBD-containing products. Ready-to-drink tea and coffee that contain CBD saw a 3.3% increase in dollar sales at convenience stores for the 52 weeks ending April 23,…