7-Eleven Plans Hundreds Of Closures, Says Inflation Is Pressuring U.S. Consumers

It’s going to get less convenient for some people to find a convenience store, with 7-Eleven planning to shutter 645 stores in 2026. 

Seven & i Holdings Co., the chain's Japanese parent company, plans to convert some of the locations to “wholesale fuel stores,” and other closures will be offset by a forecast 205 new store openings, according to a financial disclosure filed this month.

But the net closure of 440 convenience stores is an acceleration from the last two years, when 7-Eleven was less active in managing its portfolio. The brand’s North American store count fell by 251 locations in 2025 and 159 in 2024. 

It is the only region where Seven & i Holdings Co. is planning more closures than openings in 2026, with the conglomerate aiming to add a net 200 locations across Japan this year, 135 stores in China and another 25 in Australia.

U.S. same-store sales fell year-over-year in 2025, but the brand held operating income roughly flat through cost optimization efforts, Seven & i Holdings said in its consolidated financial results posted this month for the company’s fiscal year ending on Feb. 28.

The company said customers were spending more in its U.S. locations but that the increase failed to offset declining foot traffic, which it said was partially driven by the government shutdown. Store expenses continued to rise in 2025, driven by rising labor costs and rent. 

“In North America, although the economy remained robust, personal consumption also began to soften, particularly among low-income households, as inflation continued to weigh on spending,” the company said.

Shares in Seven & i Holdings were trading up modestly early Wednesday. The company has lost more than 10% of its value since the start of the year.

7-Eleven Inc., the Texas-based operator of Seven & i’s North American stores, ended the year with 13,618 retail stores, including 8,162 locations with a fuel station and 906 wholesale fuel stores, 151 more than the prior year. 

Facing heightened competition in North America for ready-to-eat food, Seven & i said it will focus its efforts on strengthening proprietary products, promoting digital delivery, cutting costs, maximizing efficiencies of scale, and expanding and strengthening its store network. 

Seven & i has been shuttering underperforming 7-Eleven locations for years, and in 2024, it fought back a $38B takeover bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard, the owner of convenience chain Circle K.

Alimentation Couche-Tard continued negotiations for a buyout, but the deal, valued at $47B, fell apart in July in what the Seven & i board called a “regrettable” situation where its suitor engaged in a “calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay.”

7-Eleven is facing competition from regional chains like Wawa, which began a push to open more than 240 locations across the U.S. in 2024 after launching a plan to double its store count in 2022, and Texas-based Buc-ee’s, which has gained a cult following as it spreads its massive convenience stores and gas stations around the country.