As COVID-19 safety protocols relax in the wake of increased vaccination rates, shoppers are returning to stores and hitting the road again. The opportunities for convenience retailers to capitalize on increased trips and frequency as old routines and new patterns of behavior emerge have never been more important. Knowing how convenience categories performed in the earliest days of the post-pandemic period and how they are leading and lagging overall retail provides important insight into the opportunities that
lie ahead.

NACS takes a look at the 13 weeks ended May 29, 2021, and how performance by subcategory compares with the year prior. This time period coincides with the start of shutdown orders that predominately began on March 13, 2020.