Tax Increase Inflates Cigarette Sales
Despite being a direct target of two historic pieces of federal legislation in 2009, it could be said that cigarettes faired the turbulent climate well. Thanks to a 61-cent increase in its federal excise tax (FET) as of April 1, 2009, along with manufacturer price increases ahead of that date, the cigarette segment saw its percentage of in-store sales increase a solid three percentage points to 33.7 percent, bringing in $412,104 for the average convenience store in 2009. Additionally, the increase seen for per-store sales represents a 14.4-percent jump over 2008.
