Editing Convenience store (section)

===United States===
[[File:OneStopSign.jpg|thumb|Sign for a convenience store in Pittsburgh]]
In-store convenience store sales grew 2.4%, reaching a record $195.0 billion in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chainstoreage.com/article/convenience-store-sales-totaled-682-billion-2011/|title=Convenience store sales totaled $682 billion in 2011 {{!}}Chain Store Age|date=4 April 2012|work=Chain Store Age|access-date=4 January 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104195507/https://www.chainstoreage.com/article/convenience-store-sales-totaled-682-billion-2011/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Combined with $486.9 billion in motor fuels sales, total convenience store sales in 2011 were $681.9 billion, or one out of every 22 dollars of the overall $15.04 trillion U.S. [[gross domestic product]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Press_Releases/2012/Pages/PR040412.aspx|title=Convenience Store Sales Topped $680 Billion in 2011 – NACS Online – Media – Press Releases – 2012|access-date=8 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912024706/http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Press_Releases/2012/Pages/PR040412.aspx|archive-date=12 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[New York City]], "[[Bodega (store)|bodega]]" has come to mean any convenience store or deli.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/nyregion/thecity/29bode.html | work=The New York Times | first=Saki | last=Knafo | title=The Classic Bodega Takes a Star Turn | date=29 March 2009}}</ref>

The first chain convenience store in the [[United States]] was opened in [[Dallas, Texas]] in 1927 by the Southland Ice Company, which eventually became [[7-Eleven]], the largest convenience store chain.<ref>{{cite news
 |url         = http://www.japannewsreview.com/business/business/20070712page_id=598
 |title       = 7-Eleven world's largest chain store
 |agency      = Japan News Review
 |date        = 12 July 2007
|access-date  = 16 January 2009
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081207234802/http://www.japannewsreview.com/business/business/20070712page_id=598
 |archive-date = 7 December 2008
|url-status     = dead
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref> Stores connected to a service station developed into a trend, celebrated by some progressive architects:

In 1939,<ref name="allbusiness">[http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/food-stores/4474276-1.html Dairy Mart Uncovers Piece of History]. Originally published in ''Convenience Store News'', 16 April 2002. Retrieved from AllBusiness.com, 19 December 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229045345/http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/food-stores/4474276-1.html |date=29 February 2012 }}</ref> a [[dairy]] owner named J.J. Lawson started a store at his dairy plant near [[Akron, Ohio]], to sell his milk. The [[Lawson (store)|Lawson]]'s Milk Company grew to a chain of stores, primarily in Ohio.<ref name="allbusiness" /> [[Circle K]], another large company-owned convenience store chain, was founded in 1951.

Since that time, many different convenience store [[brand]]s have developed, and their stores may either be [[corporation|corporate]]-owned or [[franchising|franchises]]. The items offered for sale tend to be similar despite store brand, and almost always include [[Potato chip|chips]], [[milk]], [[coffee]], [[soft drink]]s, [[bread]], [[snack]]s, [[ice cream]], [[candy]], [[chewing gum|gum]], [[cigarette]]s, [[lip balm]], [[condom]]s, [[phone card]]s, [[map]]s, [[magazine]]s, [[newspaper]]s, small [[toy]]s, [[car]] supplies, [[feminine hygiene]] products, [[cat food]], [[dog food]] and [[toilet paper]]. Other less common items include [[sandwich]]es, [[pizza]], and [[frozen food]]. Nearly all convenience stores also have an [[automated teller machine]] (ATM), though other banking services are usually not available. [[State lottery]] tickets are also available at these stores.

In 1966, the US convenience store industry first recorded $1 billion in sales. By the end of the decade, the industry had recorded $3.5 billion a year in sales. The first 24-hour store opened in [[Las Vegas]] in 1963. By the late 1960s, the number of 24-hour convenience stores increased to meet the needs of a younger population and people who were working late night or early morning shifts.

Some convenience stores in the US also sell [[gasoline]]. Only 2,500 stores had self-serve at the pump by 1969. It was not until the 1970s that retailers realized selling gasoline could be profitable and competitive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacs50.com/decades/60s/|title=NACS 50th Anniversary – 1960s: Developing Critical Mass|website=www.nacs50.com}}</ref> At the same time, [[1970s energy crisis|two energy shortages in the decade]] had many service station owners stop selling fuel altogether since they made more money off of vehicle maintenance, while others decided to convert their garages into convenience stores, noting that they met a need and in some cases netted more profits than garages.

{{Quote box
 |quote  = In the gasoline service station may be seen the beginning of an important advance agent of decentralization by way of distribution and also the beginning of the establishment of the Broadacre City. Wherever the service station happens to be naturally located, these now crude and seemingly insignificant units will grow and expand into various distributing centers for merchandise of all sorts. They are already doing so in the Southwest to a great extent.
 |source = [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], ''The Disappearing City'', 1932
}}

In 2011, there were approximately 47,195 gas stations with convenience stores that generated $326 billion in revenue.<ref>{{cite report|title=Gas Stations with Convenience Stores (code 44711/447110) Market Research|publisher=[[NAICS]] |date=December 2011 }}</ref> Of the 150,000 convenience stores in the country, 120,000{{Inconsistent|reason=120,000 doesn't line up with 47,000}} of them are located at fuel stations, which sell approximately 80 percent of the fuels purchased in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusiness/FuelsReports/GasPrices_2013/Pages/StatisticsDefinitions.aspx|title=Fueling America: A Snapshot of Key Facts and Figures|website=[[National Association of Convenience Stores]] |year=2013|archive-date=8 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808095348/http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusiness/FuelsReports/GasPrices_2013/Pages/StatisticsDefinitions.aspx|url-status=dead }}</ref>

Policies regarding the sale of [[adult magazine]]s vary, but generally larger chains (such as 7-Eleven and [[Casey's General Store]]s) do not sell these items, while smaller independent stores may do so. One notable exception is fast-growing regional chain [[Sheetz]], which until the late 2010s sold some [[soft-core pornography|soft-core pornographic]] material such as ''[[Playboy]]'', ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'', and ''[[Playgirl]]''. Sheetz ended this practice as part of a broader decision to end sales of all [[print media]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Because the laws regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages vary from state to state in the US, the availability of [[beer]], [[wine]], and [[distilled beverage|liquor]] varies greatly. For example, while convenience stores in [[Alaska]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[New Jersey]] cannot sell any kind of alcohol at all, stores in [[Nevada]], [[New Mexico]], and [[California]] may sell alcoholic beverages of any sort, while stores in [[Virginia]], [[Idaho]], or [[Oregon]] can sell beer and wine, but not liquor. Similar to grocery stores, convenience stores in [[New York (state)|New York]] can sell beer only, not wine or liquor. [[Altoona, Pennsylvania]]–based Sheetz tried to find a [[loophole]] in 2007 by classifying part of one of their prototype stores in Altoona as a [[restaurant]], which would permit alcohol sales.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-01-2007/0004518282&EDATE= |title=Sheetz, Inc. Announces Alcohol Sales in Pennsylvania |first= |last=}}</ref> State courts in [[Pennsylvania]] promptly overruled this. State law requires restaurants to have on-site consumption, but Sheetz did not do this.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kdka.com/local/beer.sales.Sheetz.2.387795.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820110530/http://kdka.com/local/beer.sales.Sheetz.2.387795.html|url-status=dead|title=kdka.com – Court Rules Against Beer In Convenience Store|archivedate=20 August 2010}}</ref> Sheetz continues to sell alcohol in other states. In recent years, Sheetz has begun to sell both beer (in the form of walk-in "beer caves") and wine in most of their [[Pennsylvania]] stores as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/wawa-sheetz-alcohol-beer-wine-pennsylvania-ambler-plcb-20200622.html|title = Convenience store chains push to sell alcohol as industry newcomers disrupt the norm| date=22 June 2020 }}</ref>

====Crime====
{{Main|Convenience store crime}}
American convenience stores are often targets of [[armed robbery]]. In some areas of the US it is not unusual for clerks to work behind [[bulletproof glass]] windows, even during daylight hours. Some convenience stores may limit access inside at night, requiring customers to approach a walk-up window to make purchases. The main dangers are that almost all convenience stores only have one person working night shift; most of the transactions are in cash; and easily resold merchandise, such as liquor, [[lottery ticket]]s and [[cigarette]]s, are on site.

Most convenience stores have a cash drop slot into a time-delay [[safe]] to limit the amount of cash on hand. Many have installed [[security camera]]s to help deter robberies and [[shoplifting]]. Because of their vulnerability to crime, nearly all convenience stores have a friendly relationship with the local [[police]]. To reduce burglaries when the store is closed, some convenience stores have bars on the windows.