In-Store Sales Begin to Recover

SAN FRANCISCO — In-store convenience-store sales continued to recover in the second week of April. The recovery comes on the back of a shift in consumer priorities, according to the latest data from analytics firm Skupos.

"In 2019, foodservice accounted for 25.4% of in-store sales," Skupos said in its latest blog post. "With many retailers suspending or altering their programs due to the coronavirus, stores have seen hits to their bottom line."

The data suggests dollars usually reserved for foodservice items have shifted to other in-store merchandise categories, such as grocery items. "When stores resume foodservice programs, we can expect to see in-store revenue rise even further," the company said.

Here's a look at data insights from the week of April 17 ...

In-store revenue is up 8.5% from the previous week, while fuel sales continue to decline, dropping 5.3% this week, according to Skupos data. "Good news: This is the first time since the U.S. national health emergency announcement that in-store sales have increased," the company said. Weekly fuel revenue also saw its lowest decrease in the past five weeks as demand began to stabilize.

Prior to the national health emergency announcement, sales of energy drinks were trending positively. Then, starting March 13, four out of five of the top energy drink brands saw a decrease in units sold per day, according to Skupos data. "All five brands [hit] their peak drop in unit sales between the weeks of March 22 and March 29," the company said. "Similar to overall in-store revenue, we’re seeing sales start to climb back up in this category."

As in-store sales level out, national fuel consumption continues to slide, with the number of gallons purchased per week declining 39% since Jan. 6, according to Skupos.

"This represents an average decrease of 3.27% per week, with peak decline rates in regular, mid/plus and premium occurring the week of March 23," the company said. "As travel ramps back up once stay-at-home orders are lifted, gasoline demand will increase."

Between Jan. 6 and April 6, gallon purchases nationally are down:

Regular: 38.85%

Mid/plus: 37.13%

Premium: 41.86%

In an exclusive partnership with Skupos, CSP Daily News is reporting the data firm's pandemic-related insights on a weekly basis. Click here to review all the insights.

San Francisco-based Skupos drives revenue growth and operational efficiency across all segments of the retail industry through the collection of billions of transactions every year. More than 13,000 customers across the United States rely on Skupos’ platform to provide actionable insights that enable brands, distributors and retailers to increase sales volume and employee productivity.