While convenience stores sought to rein in most of their expenses in 2008, a significant expense continued to grow: credit/debit card fees. In 2008, these fees again surpassed industry pretax profits, and are expected to grow even more in the coming years.
As gas prices and the use of plastic at the pump have increased, consumers are increasingly concerned about the debit "holds" on their accounts.
While convenience stores have offered fresh, prepared foods for years, it is only over the last decade that the trend has accelerated. The result is that convenience stores have continued to evolve from gas stations that happen to sell food to restaurants that happen to sell gas.
Sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products to adults are important to the economic viability of the convenience store industry, making up 36.6 percent of in-store sales in 2008. Therefore, the convenience and petroleum retailing industry works hard to ensure tobacco products are kept out of the hands of minors.