When gas prices go up, consumers generally shift their spending away from other areas because, in many cases, driving isn’t optional. “Faced with higher gasoline bills, some households may be inclined to trim their spending on other things.
In the April Consumer Checkpoint, we discussed how some areas of discretionary spending, such as durable goods (e.g., furniture) and food services (e.g., restaurants), were candidates for a trim
Alongside this, previous sharp rises in gas prices even appear to have led to a decline in the share of spending on groceries, perhaps as households trade down,” according to a Bank of America report. Consumers have traditionally made cuts when gas prices cross certain levels. “Historical Black Box Intelligence analysis reveals a harsh industry reality: restaurant traffic historically declines once the national average for a gallon of regular gas surpasses $3.50,” according to Black Box’s April 2026 Out of the Box. That’s a level U.S national average gas prices have been over since March, according to AAA, and PepsiCo has shared some sales news that should be taken as a warning for 7-Eleven and other convenience store chains.
PepsiCo sees weakness in convenience stores PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta shared troubling sales news during his company’s second-quarter earnings call that shows where Americans have been cutting back. “In the U.S., we’re seeing the consumer changing behaviors, basically an acceleration of some of the behaviors we saw in the past. Probably some channels, more the impulse channels, have been impacted, where there is more of a correlation with the price of gas. [In] certain convenience stores and some other independent [stores], we’re seeing a slowdown of the conversion of traffic into purchases,” he shared. Whether that continues depends on gas prices, which, he noted, PepsiCo doesn’t control.