NEW YORK — Uncertainty over the economic environment and its impact on the consumer is spilling over to beverage category.
Goldman Sachs’ “Beverage Bytes” first quarter retailer survey, beverage sales in the in the convenience channel decelerated to +1% vs. +2.8% in the final quarter of 2024. This in turn drove convenience store retailers’ expectations for growth this year lower compared to the fourth quarter 2024 survey, according to Bonnie Herzog, managing director at Goldman Sachs.
The recent “Beverage Bytes” survey represents approximately 42,000 retail locations or roughly 28% of the c-store channel.
“Retailers’ more conservative growth outlook this year is not surprising and is driven by tempered traffic growth expectations — reflecting weaker consumer sentiment and the associated pullback in spending given the challenging (and volatile) macro environment,” Herzog explained.
https://csnews.com/c-store-beverage-sales-face-some-pressures