The Convenience Store

How these numbers were built: the store count and ownership mix come from the 2026 NACS/NIQ store count; the in-store category mix and foodservice margin from NACS State of the Industry data reported in NACS Magazine; the cost-of-goods, labor, and rent ratios from IRS sole-proprietorship data (via ProjectionHub), used directionally; sale prices, owner earnings, and resale multiples from BizBuySell’s 2021-2025 convenience store benchmarks; survival rates from BLS Business Employment Dynamics; SBA loan volume and charge-offs from the SBA 7(a) loan data for convenience stores; and the cost to open from the opening kit, priced item by item from fixture, refrigeration, and POS dealers, store cost guides, and franchise Item 7 tables (7-Eleven, Aplus). The margin band (3% to 10%) is built around tax data on owner-run stores; stores sold on BizBuySell report more (about 17% to 18% of sales) because the owner and family usually work the register, so a store with paid clerks on every shift lands nearer the band. Where credible sources disagree, we show the conservative range. These are starting assumptions; the moment you enter a real location’s traffic, ticket, and rent, your numbers should replace ours. Figures are current as of 2025-2026.

Cost-ratio and labor/rent figures are drawn from IRS sole-proprietorship tax-return data (skews toward small/part-time operators, used directionally); category-mix and foodservice-margin figures come from NACS State of the Industry data reported in NACS Magazine. No official SBA-published benchmark for this NAICS segment was found; figures are cross-checked between the two sources rather than from a single benchmark report.