National C-Store Count Increases 1.8 Percent

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The number of convenience stores in the United States now stands at 140,655 units, according to the new National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS)/TDLinx Official Industry Store Count that tallied all U.S. convenience stores as of Dec. 31, 2005.

"While the increase in store count is smaller than in 2004, it clearly shows that the industry is healthy, since more stores opened than closed in 2005," said Scott Taylor, TDLinx executive vice president and general manager. Taylor said in the report that a total of 8,563 stores opened in 2005 vs. 6,948 that closed.

The new figure is a 1.8 percent increase over the 138,205 stores identified at year-end 2004 and is almost exclusively a result of 1,615 more stores opening than closing in 2005, according to the report. In 2004, when the industry showed a significant 5.7 percent increase in store count, it was predominantly because existing non-convenience stores evolved to fit the NACS/TDLinx definition of a convenience store, which includes a broad merchandise mix, extended hours of operations and a minimum of 500 stock-keeping units (SKUs).

Convenience stores sell the majority of motor fuels in the United States, and this is reflected in the number of stores that sell motor fuels -- 112,007 stores, or 79.6 percent of all convenience stores, a slight decrease from the 80.2 percent of stores that sold motor fuels in 2005.

"Consumer demand for convenience continues, and we see that in the growth of the industry," said Gray Taylor, NACS vice president of research. "The slight decrease in stores selling motor fuels probably reflects the evolution of our industry, in finding new locations that don't necessarily support fueling as an option, as well as the continued growth of foodservice in the industry and less reliance on slim motor fuels margins to drive profits."

Ten years ago, the official convenience store count stood at 101,100, the first time the industry count topped 100,000 stores. Twenty years ago there were 90,900 stores. And 30 years ago there were 35,600 convenience stores, of which only 20.6 percent sold motor fuels, NACSOnline reported.

Highlights from the new NACS convenience store industry store count include:

Texas remains No. 1

Texas is home to nearly one-tenth of all U.S. convenience stores, with 13,884 convenience stores in the Lone Star State. The rest of the top 10 states in terms of total stores are: California (9,597 stores), Florida (9,090), New York (7,376), Georgia (6,121), North Carolina (6,098), Ohio (4,968), Michigan (4,642), Virginia (4,398) and Illinois (4,378). Georgia leapfrogged North Carolina to land at No. 5 this year; that is the only change in the top 10 list compared to last year's.

South Atlantic region has most stores

Given that it has four of the states in the top 10, not surprisingly the South Atlantic region (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia) continues to be the region with the most convenience stores in the country -- 32,327 stores, or 23 percent of all convenience stores in the United States.

More single-store businesses than chain stores

The convenience store industry continues to be dominated by small, "independent" operators -- stores that are owned and operated as a one-store business or franchise. The number of one-store owners now stands at 84,574 stores, 60.1 percent of all stores in the United States. This is a slight drop from the record 61.3 percent that were cited as one-store operators last year; only five years ago the percentage of one-store operators stood at 50.0 percent.

Fuel as a traffic driver

Despite shrinking margins, motor fuels operations continue to be an important part of the industry. Texas reported the most stores selling motor fuels --11,902 stores, or 85.7 percent of all convenience stores in the state, considerably above the national average of 79.6 percent of convenience stores selling motor fuels.

However, a number of states have higher percentages of stores selling motor fuels, led by North Dakota (97.1 percent), Iowa (96.8 percent), Kansas and Wyoming (both 96.5 percent) and South Dakota (96.3 percent). Not surprisingly, the two states that mandate full-service for motor fuels sales had among the lowest percentages of stores selling motor fuels. New Jersey had the smallest percentage of stores selling fuels (30.1 percent), and Oregon had the third lowest (51.7 percent). Other states in the bottom five were Massachusetts (44.8), New York (52.7 percent) and Hawaii (57.1 percent).