US convenience stores are now paying twice as much in credit card fees as they make in profit.
Figures released by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show a marked increase over last year, which was the first in which fees exceeded profits.
The industry as a whole paid $7.6bn in fees, up 15.2% on the previous year, while profits dropped by $1.4bn to $3.4bn. Nearly 80% of sales were from the top five categories: cigarettes (36.9%), packaged drinks (16%), beer (13.2%), food to go (7.9%) and hot drinks (5.5%).