ALEXANDRIA, VA - NACS has just released the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2009 Data, the industry??s premier benchmarking tool and most comprehensive collection of firm-level, store-level and category data and trends based on the convenience store industry??s 2009 performance.

Compiling and analyzing industry totals, trends and averages, the report also examines economic conditions and their potential impact on convenience store operators. Charts and tables focus on every area of the industry??s 2009 performance, including financials, store operations, merchandising, foodservice, motor fuels sales and quartile analysis. The report also features a six-year perspective of same-firm data from the CSX retail database.

"Retailers who want to improve their operations and communicate the industry??s perspectives on motor fuels sales and other industry trends rely on the information contained in the annual NACS State of the Industry report," said NACS Director of Research and Statistics Bob Swanson, noting that retailers consider the report a vital resource for benchmarking store performance.

According to the report, convenience store in-store sales grew 4.9 percent in 2009, one of the lone bright spots in a battered U.S. economy that saw overall retail sales drop 7.0 percent.

While in-store sales rose to $182.4 billion, the sharp decline in gas prices from a record $4.11 per gallon in July 2008 to under $2 per gallon by the beginning of 2009 led to a dramatic drop in motor fuels revenues for the industry that sells an estimated 80 percent of the fuels purchased in the United States. The average price for a gallon of gas dropped 28.5 percent to $2.28 in 2009, and pulled down motor fuels revenues 26.9 percent to $328.7 billion. Still, motor fuels sales continue to dominate industry revenues, accounting for 68.4 percent of all sales dollars.

Complimentary copies of this year??s report are being shipped to the companies that participated in the annual survey. "We are extremely grateful to those who submitted data for this year??s survey. Not only does the NACS State of the Industry Report serve as the industry??s premier benchmarking tool, the data complied serves as an indefensible communications tool in quantifying our priority issues, both on Capitol Hill and with the national media," said Swanson.

Purchasers of the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2009 Data report will also receive a link to the NACS Convenience Store Industry Fact Book. The 23rd edition of the Fact Book provides a detailed statistical account of industry data over the past several years ?" or in some cases, decades ?" as well as a historical recap of the industry and key definitions and events that have shaped it. The Fact Book will be available in July.

Place your order for the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2009 Data/Convenience Store Industry Fact Book package, or call NACS Customer Service at (800) 966-6227.

The NACS State of the Industry Report of 2009 Data and the Convenience Store Industry Fact Book are available to NACS member companies (order number 40022038) for $249 ($749 regular price). Additional copies of the State of the Industry Report of 2009 Data /Fact Book (order number 40022044) are available for $40. The Report/Fact Book package also is available as an electronic PDF edition (order number 40022048) to NACS members for $599 ($1,199 regular price).