Energy Shots Still Hitting Bull's-eye

Latest Nielsen figures show slight leveling-off from explosive growth stage

Sales of energy shots, the fastest-growing subcategory in convenience stores over the past three years, are still going strong, based on the latest data from The Nielsen Co.

For the 52-week period ended June 12, 2011, energy shot sales increased 34 percent on a unit-count rise of 32 percent, acctording to Nielsen's Scantrack Convenience service. In an overall market where in-store sales are growing by only about 3 percent per year, those are still impressive figures even though they are significantly lower than the astronomical gains c-store retailers have experienced with these products in the past.

In comparison, energy shot dollar sales nearly doubled in 2009, growing by 92 percent over the previous year. Last year, shot sales jumped another 40 percent. Unit sales in both years were up almost as much as dollar sales.

By region of the country, the South sells the most energy shots, with a 47 percent share of dollar sales, followed by the Midwest at 22 percent, and 19 percent in the West. C-stores sell the least in the Northeast, which has 13 percent share, according to Nielsen.

The convenience channel dominates sales of energy shots.