Dive Brief:
- 7-Eleven is aiming for $1 billion in North American sales through 7Now, the company’s proprietary delivery service, by the end of its fiscal 2025, according to parent company Seven & i’s fiscal third-quarter earnings presentation.
- Reaching $1 billion would represent a 38% gain from fiscal 2024’s expected $725 million in North American 7Now sales. Same-store 7Now sales are currently growing at 24% year over year, 7-Eleven president Stan Reynolds noted in the company’s latest earnings call.
- While many c-stores are still early in their delivery journey, 7-Eleven has nearly eight years of experience helping it set priorities and expectations.
Dive Insight:
7-Eleven’s goal to hit $1 billion in 7Now sales by early next year reflects its confidence in its ability to capitalize on the operational efficiencies, fresh food and membership program it has spent years building.
7Now predated the pandemic by a few years, debuting in 2017 in Dallas. The service has expanded to more than 40 major cities and is available 24/7. Last week, the company shared that in the first three quarters of 2024, 7Now’s average delivery speed was about 28 minutes — an “industry-leading delivery time,” according to its earnings presentation.
The company also offers 7Now Gold Pass, a delivery subscription that costs $5.95 per month and waives delivery fees on orders.
7Now delivery orders average nearly $16, which is about 1.7 times larger than in-store baskets, the company noted in its earnings presentation.
7-Eleven has used a number of strategies to push customer adoption of 7Now over the years. It often offers deals and special events that can be accessed only through the delivery app, and sometimes includes unique promotions, like last year’s Super Bowl offer of a free large pizza.
The proliferation of 7Now also helps the retailer sell more of its fresh food items. During the earnings call on Thursday, Reynolds noted that “25% of 7Now’s top-selling items are fresh food and proprietary beverage items.” These included taquitos, Slurpees and Big Gulp sodas, and pizza and wings.
Editor’s note: The teaser of this story was updated to clarify that 7-Eleven’s $700 million in sales encompasses its full delivery business.