NACS Survey shows Convenience Retailers Optimistic for Q4

    

   OAKHURST, N.J. (DTN) --- A nationwide survey of U.S. convenience store 
owners conducted by NACS found that 72% of convenience retailers experienced 
increased in-store sales during the first nine months of 2018 versus the same 
time last year while 52% said their fuel sales increased compared to last year.

   The strong sales this year are causing optimism among retailers: 87% are 
optimistic about their business prospects for the next quarter; 87% are 
optimistic about the industry prospects, and 85% are optimistic about the 
overall economy's prospects. All three optimism measures are at record highs 
for the NACS Retailer Sentiment Survey. 

   Strong c-store sales can be attributed to an active summer as more people 
are outdoors and families are on road trips. Retailers most often cite good 
weather, positive economic news and low gas prices as the top three factors 
that drive sales, and all of these factors were cited as positively affecting 
sales over the past three months.

   On the flip side, 9% of retailers said in-store sales declined and 20% said 
fuel sales declined. There are also a few challenges that retailers expressed, 
including more competition from dollar stores and new regulations for tobacco 
and wage hikes. Weather also played a role regionally, with a rainy summer 
affecting sales in the Mid-Atlantic region, for example.

   NACS has conducted the quarterly NACS Retailer Sentiment Survey since 2015 
to both track retailer sentiment and survey retailer involvement and interest 
in a variety of issues related to their businesses. A total of 90 NACS member 
companies, representing a cumulative 1,494 stores, participated in the 
September survey examining sentiment for the fourth quarter.

   (c) 2018 DTN. All rights reserved.