7-Eleven & Shell Among the 20 Most Popular Stores in America

NATIONAL REPORT — Foot traffic and sales have driven two convenience store and gas station retailers to the top of the U.S. retail world.

According to a report by 24/7 Wall St., 7-Eleven Inc. and Shell are among the top 20 most popular stores in the United States. In compiling the list, the news outlet reviewed foot traffic patterns provided by data service company Placed Insights, which calculated the percentage of Americans 13 and older who visited various stores in April 2019, as well as U.S. sales and store count data from company financial documents.

"Though these stores range from hardware stores to coffee shops, the one thing these stores have in common is that they all sell items that are necessary and have everyday use such as health care, food, tools, appliances, and clothing. Therefore, these stores are relatively safe from major shifts in consumer trends or the United States' shifting demographic profile compared to other businesses," 24/7 Wall St. reported.

Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven landed at the No. 6 spot after drawing the most c-store shoppers in April — 13.78 percent of all shoppers who visited the convenience channel. The retailer also captured .70 percent of the total U.S. retail foot traffic for the month.

Looking at sales, the convenience retailer saw revenues grow by 29.8 percent in the first quarter of 2019. 7-Eleven is also growing its footprint, recently opening 903 U.S. stores to hit 9,573 locations in the U.S.

Landing at No. 13, Shell captured 0.5 percent of all U.S. shoppers and 9.45 percent of c-store and gas station shoppers in April. Houston-based Shell is an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc.

In all, there are 14,000 stores in the U.S. carrying the Shell banner, according to the report.

Walmart, McDonald's and Starbucks took the top three spots, respectively.