In the $497 billion total beverage market, retail is $299 billion—with e-commerce and value channels winning, said Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor of consumer goods and foodservice insights at Chicago-based Circana.
Wyatt spoke Monday at CSP’s Cold Vault Forum in Lombard, Illinois. Wyatt, discussing beverage trends reshaping the cold vault, looked at where beverage performance landed in the back half of 2025 and what early signals from first-quarter 2026 reveal for both the alcohol and non-alcohol space.
“Fuel decline overshadowed c-store bright spots in 2025,” Wyatt said, adding that in 2025, fewer trips and higher spend were drivers.
However, the first quarter of 2026 signaled a c-store recovery, except at the pump, she said, and convenience beverages continued to post year-over-year quarterly gains, with positive performance in this period across all channels.
Convenience stores’ prices are increasing more than other channels, according to Circana data through March 29. C-store food and beverage prices rose 3.2% per unit compared with a year ago—outpacing the 2.1% increase seen across all other retail channels combined, Wyatt said.
Energy drinks comprise more than a third, 37.8%, of non-alcohol beverage sales in c-stores and drive nearly all year-to-date 2026 growth in the category, she said. By comparison, carbonated soft drinks are 23.6%, water 12%, sports drinks 9.3%, coffee and tea 7.4%, juices 4.7% and milk 2.4%.
“Convenience is gaining share as beverage alcohol purchases shift to immediate-consumption occasions,” Wyatt said, adding that imports, domestic super premium and premixed cocktails are powering growth in c-stores.
Imports comprise the biggest piece of the pie, at 24.8%, with domestic premium second at 22% and domestic sub-premium third at 12.1%.
There are several factors influencing the shift of alcohol beverage sales to c-stores, she said, adding that c-stores win on immediate-consumption needs. This includes last-minute needs, such as a party, dinner or weekend night, all of which create urgency, “and c-stores win on speed,” she said. C-stores selling cold, ready-to-drink beverages is another factor.
C-stores also benefit from at-home entertainment occasions, such as backyard gatherings, game nights and small celebrations, Wyatt said.
“Alcohol is an easy thing to pick up and bring along to these events,” she said. “Alcohol can be seen as a relatively affordable indulgence compared to going out.”
In addition, as prices rise across c-store categories, consumers are looking for value in smaller pack sizes, Wyatt said.
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