Foodservice continues to grow in importance in convenience stores. Foodservice -- which includes all food made on site; made-to-order and commissary sandwiches; hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverages; and other hot foods like grilled chicken, hamburgers, and pizza -- is one of the most purchased in-store categories at convenience stores, accounting for 11.9 percent of all in-store sales dollars in 2005. (Unless otherwise noted, all figures are from NACS' 2006 State of the Industry report.)

Industry trends:

• Two out of three (65 percent) of all convenience stores offer food prepared on site, and 91 percent offer commissary/packaged products.
  
• One in 10 people buy food at a convenience store in a two-week period. More than half of the time (55 percent) it's a meal purchase (Source: The NPD Group, Inc.).
  
• On average, looking only at stores that offer all foodservice categories, per-store sales of foodservice in convenience stores were approximately $171,400 in 2005 ($28,296 per store when averaged over all stores, including those not offering foodservice). For the industry as a whole, foodservice sales in convenience stores reached $17.9 billion in 2005.
  
• For branded quick-service restaurants at convenience stores, the most popular menu format was sandwiches (3,682 restaurants affiliated with convenience stores), followed by pizza (2,891), chicken (2,396), burger (1,697), and Mexican (842) (Source: NACS' 2004 State of the Industry report).
  
• Some per-store average sales for foodservice categories in 2005:
  
  • Food prepared on site: $53,763
  • Commissary/packaged sandwiches: $8,546
    
  • Hot dispensed beverages (includes coffee): $40,890
    
  • Cold dispensed beverages (includes soft drinks): $21,960
    
  • Frozen dispensed beverages: $3,137
    
• The gross profit margin for foodservice in convenience stores ranks second among all in-store items, at $9.0 billion dollars in 2005. This figure was nearly one-quarter of all in-store gross margin dollars in 2005. However, foodservice is inherently more labor intensive, and a larger portion of direct store operating expenses is dedicated to foodservice sales than to other merchandise.

The trend toward takeout food:

• On-the-go breakfasts are becoming more common. In 2002, 5.9 percent of all breakfasts eaten were classified as "on-the-go" (Source: The NPD Group, Inc.).
  
• The USDA estimated that 48 percent of total food expenditures in 2004 will be away from home. Meanwhile, the National Restaurant Association's report "Takeout Trends 2000" found that 52 percent of meals are being taken out or delivered from mid-priced table service restaurants in the U.S.

Beverage sales in convenience stores:

• Almost all convenience stores (96 percent) offer hot dispensed beverage service, 94 percent offer cold dispensed beverage service, and 77 percent offer frozen dispensed beverages.
  
• According to a consumer survey conducted by NACS and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, more than half (54 percent) of consumers who purchase coffee report that they most often purchase it from a convenience store. More than seven out of 10 consumers (71.7 percent) say that they have purchased coffee in a convenience store in the past month.
  
• Two thirds (67 percent) of all customers who purchase coffee at a convenience store report that they buy coffee at a convenience store four or more times a week (Source: The Learning Exchange, Willard Bishop Consulting).
  
• Typical coffee cup sizes at convenience stores include 12 oz., 16 oz., and 20 oz. The 8 oz. cup of coffee is no longer sold by the typical retailer (Source: The Learning Exchange, Willard Bishop Consulting).