The US convenience store market

Convenience stores are one of the largest retail channels in the United States, and most of them are run by small operators.

Convenience stores in the US (December 31, 2025)

151,975

Source: NACS / NIQ TDLinx

Stores owned by companies with 10 or fewer stores (63%)

95,672

Source: NACS / NIQ TDLinx

In-store sales in 2025 (food and merchandise)

$341.2B

Source: NACS

Total industry sales in 2025, including fuel

$817.5B

Source: NACS

People working in US convenience stores

~2.7M

Source: NACS

Typical annual employee turnover

100%+

Source: NACS

What this means per store

Dividing 2025 in-store sales by the number of stores gives about $2.2 million in food and merchandise sales per store per year. That is our own calculation from the NACS figures above, and it is an average across all store sizes.

The community Mandali starts with

South Asian families, many of them Gujarati, own a large share of independent convenience stores in the US. Industry estimates put the number at around 80,000 stores. NACS does not publish ownership by background, so treat this figure as an estimate.

The same families also run motels, quick-service restaurants and independent grocery stores, which face the same hiring and trust problems. Mandali starts with convenience stores.