Beverages

The tough economy and increased competition weighed on in-store gross margins for convenience stores in 2009. Average gross margin percent for merchandise and foodservice both declined, by 1.5 percentage points and 4.9 percentage points, respectively. The last time both side of the store declined was in 2005.

While the percent of convenience stores selling beer remained unchanged from 2008 to 2009, at three-quarters of the industry, the average sales per store grew a half percent to $126,033. This increase is down compared to the resurgence seen in 2008, when beer sales per store grew 3.3 percent.