Consumer visits to convenience stores increased 4.6% in fourth quarter 2012, reflecting positive movement in key economic indicators and lower gas prices, according to new market data from The NPD Group. Data found increased traffic was due to an increase in average monthly visits, growing 3.7% over last year.
According to NPD's Convenience Store Monitor, which tracks consumer purchasing behaviors of over 51,000 shoppers in the United States, traffic growth was spread throughout all types of convenience stores. Traditional convenience stores increased 0.7%; major oil chains grew 3.2%; and other, small chains had the highest increase, up 11.5%. The time of day consumers shop was also reflected in the report. The most popular time was between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., with more than 35% of consumer visits. Afternoon shopping visits also increased by almost 10% in the quarter.
Not only did convenience store visits increase, but the amount consumers spent per visit also increased by 31 cents. The increase may be attributed to a combination of inflation and changes in the mix of products as the average amount of products purchased remained the same. Data found 58% of shoppers purchased a non-alcoholic beverages—one-third of which bought canned or bottled beverages, while 14.2% purchased dispensed beverages. Alcoholic beverages, fresh food, cigarettes and tobacco grew most, while lottery tickets, newspapers, magazines and books had the largest year-over-year decline.
