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%.