WASHINGTON — The convenience store industry navigated 2024 with a tone of cautious optimism, according to insights shared during a recent NACS webinar unpacking findings from the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2024 Data.
The webinar, The Story Behind the Stats: Key Findings from the NACS State of the Industry Report, highlighted key labor and sales trends that defined the year. Workforce stability improved slightly, with labor force participation remaining steady and turnover rates continuing to decline, while the gap between job openings and hires narrowed.
“The SOI report is a tool. It can help you make your business more efficient. These numbers can help you make strategic plans going forward,” said Chris Rapanick, managing director of research at NACS, during The Story Behind the Stats: Key Findings from the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2024 Data webinar.
Foodservice emerged as a critical driver of profitability, with the industry’s top decile reporting a 7.5% year-over-year increase in foodservice sales. Rapanick emphasized that foodservice is now the leading differentiator between high-performing stores and the rest of the market.
The SOI report aggregates financial, operational, and category-level data from more than 27,000 convenience stores nationwide. It offers retailers the opportunity to benchmark performance, understand macroeconomic and shopper trends, and identify what’s working for industry leaders.
“NACS has been doing this research for 50 years. We have a very unique relationship with the retailers who participate in the SOI survey. There are other folks outside of NACS that try to get this data, but none of them get the amount of data which we get,” Rapanick said.
During the live Q&A, one attendee inquired about shifts in payment trends. Rapanick noted that credit card usage continues to rise, with 80.5% of transaction dollars processed via credit cards in 2024, up from 78.3% in 2023.
A recording of the full webinar is available here.
