NEW YORK -- Summer beverage sales in convenience stores ended on a high note over Labor Day weekend, suggesting a welcome turnaround for the industry compared to last year. Sales were up 4.4% year over year for Labor Day 2018 compared to a 1.5% dip a year earlier, according to a Beverage Buzz survey of retailers conducted by Wells Fargo Securities, New York.
"Favorable weather (temperatures up 6% and precipitation down 13% year over year) and strong consumer sentiment drove increased momentum and traffic," Senior Analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote in a research note. "Overall, beverage sales in c-stores are strong with strength in premium waters, healthy/functional nonalcoholic beverages and import beers."
The report is good news for the industry, which earlier this year was lamenting a slowdown in traffic in 2017.
Some highlights of the report ...
Photograph by Adam Shane