• It closed more than 400 locations in the fourth quarter.
• The chain is putting an increased focus on food service.
• More store closures are coming.

Sometimes a chain has to make major cuts in order to change direction. That might mean giving up on certain markets, or making big shifts in how the business operates.

In the convenience store space, major players including Wawa, Circle K, and Casey’s General Store have bet big on food as a draw. This isn’t just hot dogs rolling on warmers or pizza of questionable quality. It’s real food meant as an alternative to stopping for fast food.

Convenience stores have been losing customers to fast-food and quick service restaurants, according to the most recent Convenience Voices study from NACS.

• The 2024 study found that 28.7% of c-store shoppers intended to visit a QSR (quick service restaurant — for example, a fast-food chain) within 30 minutes of their convenience visit.
• The figure stood at 27.5% in 2023.
• Jayme Gough, director of research and development at NACS, said the results showed the top two reasons for this leakage were primarily due to a perceived lack of variety and options for shoppers.
  Perceived quality or value were less important factors.

“A limited c-store menu was the most frequently cited reason why consumers said they would go to a QSR. 37.9% of those surveyed said they wanted to purchase a food item that the c-store didn’t offer. A close second, 27.3%, said that while they purchased food at the convenience store, they wanted additional food options that weren’t available,” according to the study.

Data like that is why 7-Eleven has opted to expand and improve its food offerings. It has also chosen to close hundreds of locations that don’t fit its evolving business model.

7-Eleven closing hundreds of stores

7-Eleven parent company Seven & i Holdings recently reported on the first half of its fiscal year. In that report, it shared its view of the American market.

“The North American economy showed signs of slowing down, with personal consumption also indicating a tendency to curb spending, particularly among low-income households, due to growing concerns about rising prices,” it shared.

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To address that, the company plans to accelerate its global growth and transformation plan.

“7-Eleven, Inc. in North America is working on ‘Distinctive Fresh Food Offering,’ ‘Store Network Enhancement,’ ‘Unleashing 7NOW’s full potential,’ and ‘OSG&A Control across the Value Chain’ as priority measures, amid growing concerns about rising prices and a growing desire among low-income earners to save on food and daily necessities,” it explained in the filing.

The company was specific in sharing its food-based plans.

7-Eleven is strengthening its support for existing regions and is converting it into a ‘convenience store with focus on food’ tailored to the characteristics of each market.

Seven & i Holdings half-year report

7-Eleven store closures timeline (2024–2025)

• October 2024: 7-Eleven announced plans to close 444 underperforming stores across North America.
  The decision was attributed to declining cigarette sales, reduced customer traffic, and inflationary pressures.

  This move represented approximately 3% of the company’s total stores in the region.

• June 2024: Earlier in the year, 7-Eleven closed 272 locations in the U.S., marking a significant increase from 184 closures in 2023.
• September 2025: 7-Eleven announced plans to close an additional 148 U.S. locations by the end of the year, bringing the total number of closures since 2024 to over 500 stores.
• October 2025: 7-Eleven reported a net reduction of 125 stores during the summer of 2025, as part of its ongoing strategy to close underperforming locations and focus on larger, food-forward stores.

7-Eleven pushes into food

7-Eleven has embraced the trends and has been improving the food at its convenience stores.

“Food recently overtook cigarettes as the largest category at 7-Eleven Inc.,” CEO Joe DePinto told Convenience.org. The company has been investing heavily in its food and beverage modernization program to capitalize on this shift.

Shifting the focus to food requires more than just adding new items.

“Growing our proprietary products is an important part of our future. This platform offers our customers a wider assortment of hot food and specialty beverages,” DePinto told Today.com, adding that the stores’ food and beverage updates will include bake-in-store items, self-serve stations, roller grills, grab-and-go options, and drinks like espresso, cappuccino, iced coffee and lattes.

GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders thinks that the hundreds of store closures are just a pruning and a cleanup for the chain.

“The locations being closed have likely suffered from a disproportionate decline in foot traffic and customers as consumers battle with rising food prices and cut back on the amount they buy. In some areas, increased competition from online and value stores will also have taken their toll as consumers seek out lower prices,” KCCL reported.

The closures have hurt how some customer perceive the 7-Eleven brand, according to data from YouGov.

“BrandIndex tracks 16 metrics including Recommendation, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, and Impression for brands daily. Since the announcement on October 10, 2024, consumer trust and brand perception have visibly eroded. For instance, 7-Eleven’s Recommendation score was at 1.6 at the start of the observation period but sharply fell into negative territory, reaching -5.7 by November 6 – a decline of 7.3 points,” it shared.

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