By Bill Scott
Tobacco products rallied in the list of greatest improvements in sales in February 2017. Black & Mild cigars always perform well in our sample of convenience stores, and B & M 070137809326 wins this month best overall performance, showing a 27 position gain–up to position in 24 in the Top 100. Following close behind were Marlboro Menthol Gold. Marlboro Special Blend Black 100’s Hard Pack and Marlboro Black King Size (which tied for 4th place with Bud Light 24 Once Cans).
Little Debbie Honey Buns keep battling Hunt Brothers Pizza for first place in sales, but this pizza brand doesn’t give up easily. Marlboro Gold remains the top selling tobacco product, but dropped one position in our February sample. Overall, tobacco and drinks show the most activity as usual, but there are still far too many of both taking up non-productive space in convenience stores, bringing into doubt the true advantage of deals.
The greatest losers that survived on the Top 100 List include Newport $.50 Off Box, Copenhagen LC Wintergreen, Coke Classic 2 Ltr, and Nestle Pure Life Water .5 Ltr.
Dropping off the Top 100 List entirely were Cobra 32 OZ, Marlb 72’s Red Hard Pack, Bud Light 18 OZ, and Pall Mall Green 100 Hard Pack.
Thirty stores were included in this study, and the dollar sales and units sold by department were charted in this simple graph.
It’s easy to see how cigarettes and non-alcoholic beverages account for the majority of income in these stores. But the sales price per each item sold tells a different story.
The average sales price per item in these stores is $2.66, ranging from the lowest sales price of $0.99 and the highest $5.33, of which over 50% of the products were sold above the average price and less than 50% below.