Cigarettes continue to experience a steady decline but remain a vital traffic driver for convenience stores. Other tobacco products (OTP) are picking up some of the slack, but what exactly the backbar will look like in five or 10 years is unknown.

Cigarettes and OTP combined made up 34% of inside sales in 2024, with cigarettes accounting for 24.2% of that total while OTP claimed 9.9%, according to NIQ data.

Four years ago, NIQ data showed cigarettes and OTP contributing 38% to total inside sales.

According to NIQ, when it comes to unit sales, cigarettes claimed 10.7% of unit shares and OTP claimed 8.1% in 2024, for a combined 18.8%, down from 21% in 2021.

Will OTP units top cigarette units in the near future?

Premliminary NACS State of the Industry data for 2024, revealed at the 2025 NACS State of the Industry Summit, showed that among the top 10 in-store merchandise categories (excluding foodservice), the only category that did not have positive sales and gross profit growth was cigarettes. Additionally, NACS Convenience Voices research found that tobacco/nicotine shoppers are more likely to visit a c-store once a day or more.

To pre-order the NACS State of the Industry Report^® of 2024 Data, reach out to Raei Tesfazghi, research and educations solutions coordinator, at rtesfazghi@convenience.org.