Convenience retailers from the Northwest to the East Coast are providing the fuel and refreshments for the 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree caravan as it travels on its 25-day trip from Washington State to Washington, D.C.
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) is serving as a lead sponsor of the 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree and also is paying for the fueling costs at all stops, with many of the stores providing free refreshments and much-appreciated smiles and support.
From Nov. 1-9, the tree and its support vehicles will travel through Washington State, which provided the 88-foot- tall Engelmann spruce that was harvested from the Colville National Forest. Along this route, the caravan will re-fuel and refresh at 10 retail fueling locations throughout Washington before embarking on its journey to the U.S. Capitol. The tree is scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 25; the lighting ceremony on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol will take place in early December.
Follow the progress of the Capitol Christmas Tree at capitolchristmastree.com and view the route the tree and caravan are traveling at capitolchristmastree.com/tree-route-schedule.
The convenience store industry has deep roots in the states and communities it serves. Convenience stores across the country deliver jobs, tax revenues and, most of all, convenience. Here are some facts about the convenience store industry:
• Convenience stores are everywhere. There are 149,220 convenience stores in the U.S.—one per every 2,100 people. Convenience stores account for nearly 35 percent of all retail outlets in the U.S., according to the 2013 NACS/Nielsen Convenience Industry Store Count. This significantly higher than the U.S. total of other retail channels, including: drugstores (40,727 stores), supermarkets (33,192 stores) and dollar stores (24,075 stores).
• Convenience stores are America’s fueling station. Convenience stores sell the majority of gasoline purchased in the country—approximately 80 percent of all fuel sold in the U.S. at retail. A total of 123,289 convenience stores sell motor fuels. Overall, more than 82 percent of all convenience stores sell motor fuels.
• Consumers embrace the local convenience store. An average store selling fuel has around 1,140 customers per day, or more than 400,000 per year. Cumulatively, the U.S. convenience store industry alone serves 160 million customers per day.
• Convenience stores grow the economy in the communities they serve. U.S. convenience stores had $700.3 billion in sales in 2012. But beyond sales, convenience stores are an important part of the economy. They employ more than 1.8 million people and generate more than $170 billion in federal, state and local taxes. Overall, convenience store sales represented approximately 4.5 percent—or one out of every $22—of the entire $15.68 trillion U.S. gross domestic product in 2012.
• Convenience stores sell time. Convenience stores offer speed of service to time-starved consumers who want to get in and out of the store quickly. These shoppers recognize this channel of trade for its convenient locations, extended hours of operation, one-stop shopping, grab-and-go foodservice, variety of merchandise and fast transactions. A NACS speed metrics study found that it takes customers, on average, three minutes and 33 seconds from the time they leave their cars until the time they get back in their cars with a purchase.
