Convenience stores represent 34.8 percent of all retail outlets in the United States with their ranks outnumbering drugstores, supermarkets and dollar stores combined. Out of Home Advertising is part of strategy to continue growth.
According to articles from Media Post and Convenience Store News for every one drugstore, there are 3.7 c-stores. For every one supermarket, there are 4.3 c-stores. And for every one dollar store, there are 6.2 c-stores. Some might say convenience stores are taking over.
The c-store domination is being accelerated by companies such as this year’s Convenience Store News Top 20 Growth Chains. For the second year, CSNewspartnered with TDLinx, a service of Nielsen, to identify those c-store operators (21 in all due to a tie) that added the most convenience stores between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012.
TDLinx defines a convenience store as a store that includes a broad merchandising mix, extended hours of operation and a minimum of 500 SKUs. Fueling stations with small kiosk stores do not meet the official definition of a c-store and thus are not reflected in TDLinx’s store count figures.
This year’s Top 20 Growth Chains, by means of acquisitions, new store construction — or in the case of the oil companies, extending their branded wholesale network — added more than 1,700 stores to their portfolios last year. Once again, convenience giant 7-Eleven Inc. led the pack, adding a net 961 locations for a 14.4-percent increase in its U.S. store base.
It appears that convenience stores are using Out of Home Advertising as part of their strategy to increase their presence across the US. Just as there has been an increase in the number of convenience store locations CMS has also seen an increase in the number of OOH units for these companies across the country. CMS has captured images of outdoor advertising for a number of convenience stores including 7-Eleven, Circle K (Alimentation Couche-Tard), QuikTrip, RaceTrac, Sheetz, Shell, and Wawa.
Bulletins, posters, and shelters were captured in Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, Tampa, and Washington DC during the month of February by our Field Professional as part of the monthly OutdoorAdVault image capture.
OutdoorAdVault is a business to business service used for educational and research purposes with monthly subscriptions available through the Carroll Media Services website. The current database exceeds 120,000 images. Two top line benefits of a subscription to this service is to see outdoor advertising trends as they occur across the country from month to month, as well as to research creative executions over several years – by brand, category, DMA, etc.
If you would like more information on an OutdoorAdVault subscription please contact Carroll Media Services.
