ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The industry’s most comprehensive collection of firm-level, store-level and same-store-level data and trends is available now in the 2006 NACS State of the Industry (SOI) report. 

Examining totals, trends and averages for the industry, the 84-page report features more than 100 charts and tables focusing on every area of the industry’s 2005 performance, including financials, store operations, merchandising, motor fuels sales and quartile analysis.

“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 SOI report,” says NACS Vice President of Research and Technology Gray Taylor, noting that retailers use the SOI as a resource for benchmarking store performance.

According to the 2006 SOI, convenience store sales hit new highs in 2005, climbing 25.5 percent to reach a record $495.3 billion. Inside the store, revenues grew 14.4 percent to reach $151.1 billion, with merchandise revenues increasing 14.5 percent to hit $133.2 billion and foodservice revenues growing 13.3 percent to reach $17.9 billion. On a per-store basis, combined in-store sales surpassed $1 million per store for the first time in SOI history to hit $1.081 million per store.

While revenues increased, so did expenses. Credit card fees continued to burden retailers in 2005, costing the industry $5.4 billion -- a staggering 42.1 percent increase over the $3.8 billion in card fees in 2004, according to SOI data.

The 2006 SOI also reveals that customers continue to purchase the vast majority of gasoline at convenience stores -- roughly three-quarters of all fuel purchased in the United States. Inside the store, the top 10 categories combined accounted for more than 88 percent of all in-store sales.

Complimentary copies of the SOI will begin to be shipped today to 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 SOI serve as the industry’s premier benchmarking tool, the industry numbers compiled are critical to our outreach efforts in quantifying the industry and its priority issues, whether on Capitol Hill or in the local newspaper,” says NACS Director of Research Bob Swanson.

The 2006 SOI features a number of additional research supplements:

• Same-Store Trends: A sample group of 657 stores, selected to be representative of the industry, are part of a NACS Index Group that tracks same-store data and comparisons for 2004 and 2005.
• Technology: A total of 126 companies, representing 13,000-plus stores, provided data on key technology metrics in more than a dozen categories, including capital investments, scanning, payment methods and wireless technology.
• Motor Fuels: An update on sales and trends in motor fuels retailing and the growth and market share of hypermarkets.

Purchasers of the SOI also will receive the NACS Convenience Store Industry Fact Book CD-ROM. The 19th 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 shipped in August.

To order the 2006 NACS State of the Industry report/Convenience Store Industry Fact Book CD-ROM package, visit NACS Online or call (800) 966-6227.

The 2006 NACS State of the Industry report and the Convenience Store Industry Fact Book CD-ROM are available to NACS member companies for $150 ($500 regular price). Additional copies of the SOI report/Fact Book are available to NACS members for $30 ($150 regular price).