The past year answered a lot of questions for convenience retailers, such as what sort of change the Trump administration would bring or how operators might pivot in the ever-changing tobacco category.
As 2026 gets underway, c-store operators are left with a new slate of questions about their businesses and the industry as a whole. As C-Store Dive moves into the new year, we’re also trying to wrap our heads around these open tabs and unresolved storylines.
Here’s what’s on our minds as we head into 2026.
What acquisition or sale will shock the industry?
The c-store industry reliably sees at least one massive acquisition that emerges out of nowhere each year and reshapes the competitive landscape.
In 2023 we got Maverik’s purchase of Kum & Go and BP’s buyout of TravelCenters of America. A year later, we saw Alimentation Couche-Tard purchase GetGo Café + Markets and FEMSA take on Delek US Holdings’ c-store network. In 2025, RaceTrac’s $566 million purchase of sandwich QSR Potbelly became one of the most surprising and potentially industry-shifting deals seen in years.
The writing is on the wall for another blockbuster to occur in 2026. Betting favorites would likely be Sunoco divesting hundreds or thousands of its recently acquired Parkland c-stores in North America, BP selling one of its major U.S. c-store banners amid its global cost-reduction strategy or Yesway finally appeasing investors with an outright sale of the company.
But because the c-store industry has been full of surprises in recent years, there’s no telling who or where a shocking sale might come from.
What will 7-Eleven look like at the end of the year?
7-Eleven is the world’s largest convenience store chain, with a massive presence in North America and Asia. But 2026 should be a year of change for the retailer, at least in the U.S.
Some will continue initiatives that started in or before 2025, such as modernizing coffee programs, building bigger stores and offering fuel or proprietary QSRs at more sites.
But 2026 is expected to bring two monumental changes — a new leader, after CEO Joseph DePinto announced he would be retiring from that post at the end of 2025 and an IPO for the company’s North American operations, which promises to significantly impact its business.
When announcing the IPO last March, parent company Seven & i said it aims to make 7-Eleven’s North America segment more agile and let it exercise more autonomy in how it spends funds. And the company is already in the process of searching for DePinto’s replacement, while Stan Reynolds and Douglas Rosencrans, president and COO of 7-Eleven, respectively, will serve as co-CEOs in the interim.
Then there’s the question of funds raised from the initial stock sale. Some will go to stock buybacks and others will be used to boost growth efforts for the newly formed company. Time will tell how much of the pie each side gets.
How will consumers hold up in the face of economic headwinds?
Retailers would love it if consumers became less cost-sensitive in the new year. But that doesn’t seem likely.
Inflation may be down from highs in 2021 and 2022, yet remains above pre-pandemic levels. Between that and an unemployment rate that’s inching up, the pressure is still on peoples’ wallets.
Tariffs aren’t helping. While the uncertainty about what would be taxed and when has mostly died down, many tariffs are still in effect, with an average effective tariff rate at about 17%, according to Yale’s Budget Lab. That’s the highest level since 1935.
Then there’s increasing healthcare costs. The federal government let subsidies lapse that kept premiums down for many Americans. This has led to premiums for Affordable Care Act policies seeing a median increase of 18% — 11 percentage points higher than in 2025 — according to The Peterson Center on Healthcare. Almost no policy prices are staying the same or getting cheaper. With more than 24 million people on ACA plans last year, that’s a lot of people paying more for healthcare.
All this could lead to further slowing of consumer spending in 2026. But if the country can get some of these metrics back on track, the rising tide could lift c-store spending.
Which regions will emerge as the next c-store hot spots?
Convenience retailers have spent the past few years investing millions of dollars into reaching new markets, whether that be through M&A or new builds. Although expansions have occurred in several regions, the South, Midwest and East Coast in particular have become hot spots. The Midwest alone has seen former stalwarts Yesway and Kum & Go fade as relative newcomers like Maverik and Mega Saver have charged ahead.
Where else might retailers introduce their brands in 2026? One region to watch could be out West, which hasn’t experienced the same c-store expansion hype as the rest of the country.
Two western states that have seen small but notable c-store entrances and could be in play are Nevada and Arizona, whose warm climates and below-average property taxes compared to the rest of the country could make them ripe for expansion.
How will c-store designs change in 2026?
Over the past few years we’ve seen c-stores try out numerous formats. Wawa decided to test the travel center waters, Rutter’s unveiled a sports-bar-inspired concept and a plethora of retailers, from 7-Eleven and GPM Investments to Cubby’s and Fireside Market, developed new looks to support their foodservice ambitions.
Will we see more of the same in 2026?
With the ever-increasing focus on foodservice, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more stores rethinking their look to operate more like a QSR. From adding or expanding kitchens to implementing queue areas and space for indoor or outdoor seating, there are a number of ways retailers can update their store designs to draw in diners.
Or might more retailers design larger stores, as we encountered regularly in 2024?
We might even see an entirely new approach to design emerge as retailers pull together more data and expertise.
Will Maverik win over its new Midwest customer base?
Maverik completed its Kum & Go rebrands last month, closing a two-year chapter that has turned heads in convenience retailing. In addition to its roughly 400 c-stores in the Mountain West, the Utah-based company now has hundreds more across Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
But Maverik’s biggest challenge lies ahead: Winning the trust and loyalty of Kum & Go’s customers, many of whom have expressed outrage at the deal. Kum & Go was known for its made-to-order food and quirky brand presence, but Maverik has axed those qualities for more grab-and-go offerings and an adventure-themed shopping experience that’s historically been more of a fit for its fans in the Mountain West.
Maverik’s chaotic integration of Kum & Go’s stores and team members has been one of the more closely watched storylines in convenience retailing the past couple of years. Now that those rebrands are done, Maverik will look to steady the ship and reach calmer waters.
