According to a recent NACS report, the number of convenience stores in the United States declined for the fourth consecutive year, primarily driven by a 3.1 percent decrease in single-store operators.
Currently, there are 148,026 c-stores operating in the US, which is a 1.5-percent drop from last year. Out of this number, the single-store operators still account for 60.4 percent (89,336 stores).
This decline reflects several trends, common for the retail industry: reduction of brick-and-mortar operations and consolidation of operating companies, with active M&A and buy-outs across the industry, in particular.
But despite the fourth straight yearly decline in store numbers, the overall c-store count is about the same as 10 years ago – there were 148,126 c-stores in this country in 2012. With the U.S. population currently at 332.4 million, it means there is one c-store per every 2,245 people.
When a c-store operator reflects on these numbers, it becomes clear that the time to take decisive action is now. Whether you are an owner of a single convenience store or amajor operating company with hundreds of c-store locations, when you are faced with the potential store sale (or purchase), it is vitally important to establish the fair valuationof the business, taking into account all the relevant parameters affecting its revenue, both current and projected. This is the time when you need to have access to reliable data analytics that reflect your store KPIs. Without knowing the true, verified, up-to-date data on traffic flows, demographics, and consumer behavior it is hard to make proper business decisions that can make or break your business deal.
Figure 1. Traffic volumes for a particular site within a year
Tricon is in the business of location data analytics focused on the retail and real estate industry. Our popular product C-Site Insight™ is geared to provide c-store operators, big and small, with reliable, timely data, exactly where and when it’s needed. Our reports will tell you how many vehicles pass by your location on an hourly, daily, and monthly basis, how many drivers demonstrate shopping behaviors, what are the population trends in the adjacent area, as well as other highly useful operations-related data. Our C-Site Insight™ reports are based on cross-verified data – you can take them to the bank.The reports can be customized to fit your specific business needs and save you valuable time in your decision-making process.
Contact us and request a demo to learn more about this helpful solution.
