Las Vegas conjures up images of gambling, glitzy shows, shopping, bright lights against a dark night sky and parties continuing into the early morning. C-store shopping habits in Las Vegas reveal the not-so secret ingredient that keeps the city up all day and night: caffeine.
For the 12 months ending June 2012, Las Vegas c-store shoppers overindexed the total U.S. c-store shopper average on energy drink purchases by 97%. They also purchase regular coffee and tea at above-average rates. Interestingly, they are below average on soda purchases.
Perhaps attending parties—or working at parties—means Las Vegas consumers are seeking out products to help them replenish and recover from late nights. Las Vegas c-store shoppers stand out for breakfast-item purchases and overindex the average on orange juice, muffin/doughnut and fresh breakfast food purchases. These shoppers also seek out sports drinks and water at above-average rates.
Enhancing this party image is their above-average purchase rates for beer, other alcohol beverages and breath mints. In addition, they are more likely than average to visit in the early morning from 2 to 6 a.m. and late at night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and to say they are headed off to some other activity or location that is not home or work/school, notably entertainment and recreational activities.
Las Vegas shoppers may be saving their money for other things, because they purchase fewer items and spend less than the average shopper. They are more likely than average to say price of products, coupons/discounts/sales/promotions, and rewards programs are a reason they selected a c-store for a purchase. However, they do shop more often, and more of them are super-heavy c-store shoppers, making 13 or more visits in a month.
Due to state law, there is one item Las Vegas consumers are not buying at c-stores: lottery tickets.
Sherri Wilson is an account manager for The NPD Group in Houston.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.