Our reporting this year has shown how skyrocketing gasoline and diesel prices at the pump are reshaping consumer spending habits at convenience stores and gas stations.
As fuel costs take up a larger share of household budgets, consumers trade down, cut back on discretionary purchases like energy drinks and snacks, or skip them altogether. Some also buy less fuel, putting pressure on both pump volumes and in-store sales.
Citi beverages analyst Filippo Falorni published a new report on Friday, reporting back to clients after attending the 2026 NACS Show in Las Vegas earlier this week. He warned that the overall mood among beverage companies was more subdued because of softer traffic and declining consumption, driven by higher fuel costs.
"Overall, the tone was more subdued than last year given softer traffic/consumption levels in the channel amid higher gas prices and lower-income consumer pressure," Falorni wrote in the note.
He pointed out that Citi-tracked convenience-channel dollar sales fell 2.1% in the third quarter from the same quarter a year earlier.
Volumes declined 5.1% in the quarter.
More indepth.
The convenience channel has materially underperformed the broader retail market since the Iran conflict began, Falorni said.
« Back to The Culture War
