U.S. C-Store Count Stands At Over 144,000 According to the latest statistics published by the new NACS/Nielsen TDLinx Official Industry Store Count the number of convenience stores in the United States now stands at 144,875. This represents a 1% decline from the previous year. A "convenience store" is defined as a store that includes a broad merchandise mix, extended hours of operation and a minimum of 500 stock-keeping units or SKU's. Even with this small decline, the convenience retailing industry has seen remarkable growth over the last three decades with nearly triple the number of c-stores today than the 50,400 counted in 1978. The convenience retailing industry continues to be dominated by single-store operators. They account for 62% of the industry. When compared to other retail merchandising outlets here's where c-stores stack up:
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