March 2020 was the last somewhat normal month seen by convenience retail—though the month signaled dismal times ahead and the catastrophic impact COVID-19 would have on three key convenience performance indicators. Year over year, transactions were down 16%, fuel gallons were down 16% and foodservice sales declined 10% in March 2021.

Benchmarking 2021 data against 2020 would only provide false flags, but analyzing 2021 data versus 2019 delivers a truer view. The chart below presents data for March across the past three years. Both 2020 and 2021 are indexed against the base 2019 data. The comparison indicates recovery in the three metrics hardest hit by the pandemic. Transaction counts have rebounded to 97% of 2019’s count. Fuel gallons were also just shy of 2019’s performance at a 94 index. Perhaps the best news, however, is that foodservice sales not only met but also exceeded that metric, indexing at 103 vs. 2019’s value.

March 2021 may not fully be what normal looks like, but it’s great to think that we’re more than 90% of the way back.