Consumer confidence declined again in March as Americans’ outlook about future conditions darkened amid worries about inflation and tariffs.
The Conference Board’s Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions — dropped 9.6 points in March to 65.2, the lowest level in 12 years. The cutoff date for preliminary results was March 19, 2025.
In other results, The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. The Present Situation Index — based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions — decreased 3.6 points to 134.5.
March’s fall in confidence was driven by consumers over 55 years old and, to a lesser extent, those between 35 and 55 years old. By contrast, confidence rose slightly among consumers under 35, as an uptick in their assessments of the present situation more than offset gloomier expectations.
The decline was also broad-based across income groups, with the only exception being households earning more than $125,000 a year.
Amidst all this gloom and doom, convenience stores, in particular, are doing just fine, thank you very much!
In a recent study, while issues like increasing operational costs and uncertainty over the future state of the U.S. economy are keeping the convenience store industry's small operators (those operating 20 stores or less) up at night, a higher percentage of them was optimistic in their expectations than as reported in a study conducted a year ago.
"The economy is getting better and prices are coming down," one small operator remarked.
Still, the c-store industry is concerned about issues that have the biggest impact on their profitability, such as rising operational costs and ability to hire and retain sufficient amount of personnel.
It’s not surprising then, that at least 36% of the small operators expect to increase their store count this year.
In order to achieve this goal, and compete with the big chains on a more equal footing, it helps to have all the assistance one can get. Ticon, a location intelligence consulting firm, provides just such a kind of assistance with its renown Site Selection reports.
So, when you need to do site selection and retail site location analysis for your next store, ask Ticon for the most reliable, accurate and granular data you can find – we got it for you. Historical traffic data, accurate traffic counts, demographic analysis and economic stats, sales forecast – we have it all for you, just a click away.
By having all this information produced from impeccably accurate data by highly capable traffic engineers, Ticon is able to offer you the key for usiness location analysis for your future stores, and to improve the performance of the stores you already own and operate.
It’s like having a full department of traffic engineers and data analysts working for you – only without the cost the big companies have to pay for this luxury.
Want to know where to locate commercial ev charging stations?
For big and small c-store chains alike, Ticon provides this much needed estimation as a service, through its sales forecasts reports. Visit Ticon’s website to place an order – or call us to discuss what other services among those we offer may be of interest.
So, if you want to be ahead of the game, give us a call to talk about asset performance product selection optimization with Ticon’s highly granular data.
As Aldi continues to set benchmarks in the grocery sector, tools like Ticon offer a complementary layer of intelligence, helping translate technological innovation into tangible business success by grounding decisions in precise, location-specific insights. This holistic approach ensures growth is both strategic and sustainable.
Contact usIf you are a small-to-medium operator, you are welcome to engage Ticon on an as-needed basis, to receive the detailed site selection reports for individual locations.
In both cases, Ticon’s offerings are very competitively priced, while providing the highest accuracy and granularity of data.
Visit our website or contact us for a free consultation.
It takes a fully staffed analytics department to deal with data of this complexity.
It costs a lot.
Or so it was, until Ticon came up with an easy, affordable solutions to this important but challenging task.
Ticon’s business location analysis can be ordered online in a matter of minutes, and received in a matter of days. No need to enter into lengthy agreements or pay hefty user fees. You only pay for what you need, when you need it.
The door to Knowing Your Customer, at any place across America, is now open to you.
By having all this information produced from impeccably accurate data by highly capable traffic engineers, Ticon is able to offer you the key findings for business location analysis, to decide if investing in EV chargers at these locations makes business sense, and to better retail store performance of the ones you already own and operate.
It’s like having a full department of traffic engineers and data analysts working for you – only without the cost the big companies have to pay for this luxury.
The concept of fast food was born in America, so it’s not surprising that the top 10 largest QSR chains are all US brands. Topped by the company that started it all, venerable McD’s.
As of this writing, McDonald’s has over 40,000 restaurants worldwide, some of which are housed in very picturesque buildings and environments. Many countries have their unique menu items not available to US customers, like McBaguettes in Paris, or McArabia chicken pita sandwiches in Abu Dhabi.
This is just one of the reasons McD’s sales are booming overseas, where it saw 4.1% growth, unlike 1.4% decline at the domestic market. Thus, the company plans to open most of its new restaurants overseas: about 2,200 this year, including about 1,000 in China.
This is why the company recently stated that it’s on track to reach 50,000 restaurants by the end of 2027. This would mark its fastest ever period of global expansion.
What does it mean for everybody who’s in this industry? First of all, a reason to be optimistic about the economy. The boys and girls at McD’s have a lot of data to look at, and if they bet on growth, so should we all.
But a corollary of the growth will be increased competition for prime real estate – and we don’t mean in China, but here, in our good old U.S. of A.
This is why it is critically important for every retail chain operator to hook up with a source of trustworthy location intelligence toolkit, including historical traffic data, accurate traffic counts and demographic analysis, and sales forecasting – like Ticon.
At Ticon, we know that a store location that assures a high potential for a high number of visitors is defined not only by the total number of vehicles passing by it. Other factors include the time when the traffic is at its highest – morning or afternoon; the speed at which these cars travel past your store – if they travel too fast, there’s less chance of them stopping at your location; and the site visibility – which can be enhanced by proper placement of a billboard informing the travelers of the service you offer.
By having all this information produced from impeccably accurate data by highly capable traffic engineers,
Ticon is able to offer you the key to improving store performance management of the ones you already own and operate.
One does not need to have a crystal ball to figure out why Walmart just made a decision to make a “landmark investment” in Canada, to the tune of $4.5 billion, which includes building dozens of new stores, beginning with five locations in Ontario and Alberta.
But look at all the other news:
Sprouts will expand in Florida, with seven new stores to cater to all these fresh and green stuff lovers that moved to FL from the opposite shore. That’s good news for the residents of St. Jones, Orlando, St. Petersburg (not the one in Russia) and in Palm Beach County.
Love’s will upgrade 50 stores and open 20 new ones. More than half of Love’s 655 locations will be newly constructed or remodeled by 2035.
And will you just look at the amount of milk shakes we’ll be getting!
Smoothie King plans to have 105 new stores in 2025, including key markets like Atlanta. Meanwhile, Shake Shack sees the potential for its company-operated footprint to reach “at least” 1,500 locations over time, vs. its prior target of 450 sites. Shake Shack expects to open up to 85 new restaurants this year, including 45 company-operated locations.
What makes us the happiest is the news that Barnes & Noble will open 60 stores in 2025, if you can believe a publication not so closely associated with the retail industry – some tabloid called Financial Times.
Why is this important?
Because this is a sign that our economy - and our industry - is optimistic about tomorrow, and puts its money into growth, in order to make more money. Whether you are big or small, this is a wake-up call to you. Growth is priority #1, and if you need support from an expert on site selection, demand planning and sales forecasting to help you with growing in the right areas, and in optimal locations, all you need to do is to make one call to Ticon.
We are waiting, and we’ll be happy to see you.
It’s like having a full department of traffic engineers and data analysts working for you – only without the cost the big companies have to pay for this luxury.
Contact us today to strengthen your competitive position, optimize the store operations and achieve maximum profitability.
Main topics of the report include:
• Market growth and consumer adoption: The group discussed EV charging and the role of convenience stores, noting that while EV customers tend to spend more per visit, there are fewer of them compared to gasoline customers.
• Economics of commercial electric vehicle chargers and retail locations: The group also discussed shifting EV charging patterns, with members predicting a move toward “top-off” charging behaviors, prompting retailers to focus on inside sales.
• EV charging infrastructure and development: EV charging infrastructure development was also a hot topic, highlighting the cost advantages of incorporating charging during initial construction versus retrofitting, the benefits of standardizing connectors and concerns about potential market competition between commercial electric vehicle chargers and private charging stations.
So, what should the industry do about this roller-coaster of politically motivated contradictory decisions? Just like with any other decision about money, we should see what our customers want, and satisfy the real, existing, persisting need.
KYC – Know Your Customer – is an old concept that should never be out of fashion. Yes, it requires a lot of historical traffic data collection and analysis, and not every company can afford keeping a bunch of highly paid data analysts on its payroll.
But fortunately, there’s Ticon. And in Ticon, we believe in facts and work with data.
Don’t get this wrong: we are all for progress. But we are also for common sense and for objective understanding of human nature. Thus, we suggest that if you plan on implementing a new technology, or even a new consumer product, in your convenience store or truck stop, we’ll be happy to assist you with thorough demographic analysis by radius of the extended trade area – which also applies to choosing optimal locations for EV chargers.
You can contact us online or schedule a conversation with our experts using this Calendly link. We are open.
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