Upcoming holidays and wrapping up the year’s expenses cause the last few weeks of the year to fly by—but it’s also important to take time to reflect, set benchmarking goals and seek opportunities for the upcoming year.

A good place to start is looking at direct store operating expenses (DSOE), a crucial line item for convenience store operators.*

Higher expenses were a universal phenomenon in 2022—hardly any line items were spared from an increase. Total DSOE increased year over year by 14.3%, from $72,046 to $82,348 per store, per month, according to NACS State of the Industry (SOI) Report® of 2022 Data.

Card fees rose 27.6% in 2022 to an average of $12,236 per store, per month. The year saw a trifecta of conditions that caused them to increase: higher fuel and in-store prices, more transactions and more consumers using cards to pay (77.5% of dollar sales were transacted using a card).

While nobody knows what 2024 will bring, you can rely on NACS SOI data to not only show past performance but also to help you benchmark, be prepared for headwinds and spot opportunities.

Wages and card fees saw the largest increase. In 2022, the average convenience store spent $35,418 on wages, and when benefits were added in, wages and benefits rose to $46,980 per store, per month. Several expense line items grew year over year at double-digit rates in 2022: wages and benefits (14.1%), utilities (16.0%) and repairs and maintenance (13.7%).