And what's down? Bottled water, soda, milk and fresh bread

...But there have been sharp declines in bottled water, soda, milk and fresh bread, says IRI, noting that in 2008-12, bottled water unit sales in c-stores slipped 3.1% despite beefed-up promotional efforts and associated price deflation.

Meanwhile, milk has also suffered, in part because fewer Americans are drinking it (click here​), and in part because drug and dollar stores are perceived as offering better value, particularly on take-home sizes.

In fact unit sales of milk declined a staggering 25% in c-stores in the 2009-2012 period.

Many c-store operators are also limiting their assortment to two choices (eg. whole milk and 1% milk), which is not happening in other channels.

As for carbonated soft drinks, while they are still in the top 10, unit sales were down 1.2% in the 2008-2012 period, while dollar sales were up just 0.4%.

Part of this owes to reduced space allocation, but they too have been suffering as consumers switch to sexier beverages from sport and energy drinks to ready-to-drink teas and coffees.

As for bottled water, dollar sales were up 2.9% over the period but unit sales were down 3.1%.