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7-Eleven Reports Grocery Sales Lift

Although it's traditionally been a destination for Slurpees, Big Gulps and similarly convenient fare, 7-Eleven is reporting that localized shopping trends and value orientation are driving an unprecedented lift in sales of Center Store staples. Once slow-selling items like flour, pasta, ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese, and frozen items are some of our fastest-growing, the convenience

LAS VEGAS — Although it's traditionally been a destination for Slurpees, Big Gulps and similarly convenient fare, 7-Eleven is reporting that localized shopping trends and value orientation are driving an unprecedented lift in sales of Center Store staples.

“Once slow-selling items like flour, pasta, ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese, and frozen items are some of our fastest-growing,” the convenience chain's president and chief executive officer, Joe DePinto, told attendees at Information Resources Inc.'s Reinventing CPG & Retail Summit here at the Wynn Las Vegas last week.

The convenience chain's recently expanded 7-Select corporate brand is likewise benefiting from the shift in shopper priorities.

Six of 7-Eleven's best-selling chips SKUs are the 7-Select brand, and unit sales of its private-label water are up 60%, noted DePinto.

“Consumer response has been great,” he said.

Shoppers are also seeking savings linked to bulk purchases. The retailer is merchandising fewer six- and 12-packs of beer in order to make room for more 18-packs of beer.

“As a result, sales in that category have grown,” DePinto said.

7-Eleven's store operators are able to tailor sets to these and more localized market trends on a weekly basis, thanks to a data system that identifies, by store level, SKUs that are selling and those that are not.