Question: Did expanding store hours pay for themselves? Store: Grangeville (62221), Pacific Northwest Analysis Period: Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 (excl. Feb 6 – Apr 12, 2025 data gap) Split Point: July 2025 (highest employee cost month)
Finding: No clear step-change. Employee costs actually decreased year-over-year.
| Month | 2024 | 2025 | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $72,690 | $46,730 | -36% |
| Feb | $60,589 | $45,808 | -24% |
| Mar | $37,765 | $45,417 | +20% |
| Apr | $61,652 | $48,636 | -21% |
| May | $61,451 | $51,817 | -16% |
| Jun | $54,158 | $47,819 | -12% |
| Jul | $59,594 | $58,726 | -1% |
| Aug | $53,688 | $53,596 | 0% |
| Sep | $38,630 | $44,144 | +14% |
| Oct | $67,830 | $47,028 | -31% |
| Nov | $56,503 | $54,856 | -3% |
| Dec | $34,089 | $51,887 | +52% |
| Avg | $54,887 | $49,705 | -9% |
Within 2025, there's a modest H1→H2 increase:
- H1 avg: $47,705/mo
- H2 avg: $51,706/mo (+$4,001, or +8.4%)
July 2025 is the highest month ($58,726), but the increase is gradual rather than a sharp step-change. No single month signals "we added evening shifts." The pattern is more consistent with seasonal fluctuation (summer staffing) than a policy change.
Finding: Clear revenue and margin improvement in the after period.
| Metric | Before (avg/day) | After (avg/day) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $28,870 | $32,170 | +11.4% |
| Merchandise Revenue | $5,582 | $6,162 | +10.4% |
| Foodservice Revenue | $1,561 | $1,802 | +15.5% |
| Fuel Revenue | $21,057 | $23,477 | +11.5% |
| Total Margin | $3,089 | $3,461 | +12.0% |
| Merch Margin | $1,786 | $1,972 | +10.4% |
| Food Margin | $859 | $991 | +15.4% |
| Transactions | 1,061 | 1,171 | +10.4% |
| Inside Transactions | 688 | 740 | +7.6% |
| Basket Size | $10.32 | $10.73 | +4.0% |
The revenue lift is broad-based — fuel, merchandise, and foodservice all grew proportionally. Inside transactions grew 7.6% (more customers coming in), while basket size also increased 4% (existing customers spending more). Both channels contributing.
Note: The "before" period spans Jan 2024 – Jun 2025 (475 days, excl. data gap) vs "after" Jul – Dec 2025 (142 days), so some of this lift may reflect normal year-over-year growth or seasonal effects.
Finding: Evening/overnight hours show significant growth, especially late evening and early morning.
| Hour | Before txn/day | After txn/day | Before $/day | After $/day | Rev Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midnight | 4.8 | 5.4 | $112 | $141 | +25% |
| 1 AM | 7.3 | 9.9 | $215 | $249 | +16% |
| 2 AM | 5.8 | 6.7 | $177 | $149 | -16% |
| 3 AM | 8.7 | 9.2 | $234 | $227 | -3% |
| 4 AM | 14.5 | 16.0 | $330 | $400 | +21% |
| 5 AM | 23.6 | 27.9 | $562 | $615 | +9% |
| 6 AM | 28.7 | 34.7 | $726 | $810 | +12% |
| 7 AM | 42.3 | 51.0 | $1,110 | $1,324 | +19% |
| 8 AM | 54.4 | 60.7 | $1,480 | $1,698 | +15% |
| 9 AM | 63.4 | 73.3 | $1,763 | $2,041 | +16% |
| 10 AM | 74.5 | 81.1 | $2,082 | $2,273 | +9% |
| 11 AM | 84.2 | 88.0 | $2,310 | $2,560 | +11% |
| Noon | 95.9 | 104.1 | $2,462 | $2,707 | +10% |
| 1 PM | 84.4 | 92.1 | $2,277 | $2,581 | +13% |
| 2 PM | 77.3 | 83.1 | $2,181 | $2,417 | +11% |
| 3 PM | 71.1 | 80.4 | $2,009 | $2,277 | +13% |
| 4 PM | 70.3 | 75.7 | $1,996 | $2,221 | +11% |
| 5 PM | 62.2 | 65.8 | $1,765 | $1,967 | +11% |
| 6 PM | 48.0 | 51.3 | $1,407 | $1,482 | +5% |
| 7 PM | 36.7 | 40.5 | $1,017 | $1,094 | +8% |
| 8 PM | 30.3 | 32.9 | $807 | $888 | +10% |
| 9 PM | 27.0 | 29.6 | $647 | $675 | +4% |
| 10 PM | 24.3 | 28.1 | $525 | $573 | +9% |
| 11 PM | 16.5 | 19.2 | $342 | $448 | +31% |
Growth is broad-based across all hours. The strongest growth is at 11 PM (+31%), midnight (+25%), 4 AM (+21%), and early morning 7 AM (+19%). Daytime hours also grew 9-16%.
Foodservice revenue during evening/overnight hours is effectively zero — before and after. Evening business is entirely merchandise and fuel.
| Hour | Merch Before ($/day) | Merch After ($/day) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 PM | $351 | $380 | +8% |
| 7 PM | $279 | $314 | +13% |
| 8 PM | $246 | $268 | +9% |
| 9 PM | $247 | $261 | +6% |
| 10 PM | $259 | $295 | +14% |
| 11 PM | $193 | $224 | +16% |
| Midnight | $59 | $58 | 0% |
| 1 AM | $88 | $119 | +35% |
| 2 AM | $65 | $74 | +13% |
| 3 AM | $73 | $88 | +22% |
| 4 AM | $128 | $151 | +18% |
| 5 AM | $169 | $188 | +12% |
Evening revenue carries merchandise margins (~32%), not the higher foodservice margins (~55%).
- Incremental monthly employee costs (2025 H1→H2): $51,706 − $47,705 = $4,001/month
- Incremental daily merch + food margin: ($1,972 + $991) − ($1,786 + $859) = $318/day
- Incremental monthly margin: $318 × 30.4 = $9,680/month
- Coverage ratio: $9,680 ÷ $4,001 = 2.42x
The incremental margin at Grangeville comfortably exceeds any labor cost increase — the $9,700/month in added merch + foodservice margin covers the modest $4,000/month H2 labor increase at 2.4x.
However, the data doesn't clearly show an "extended hours" event.
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No clear opex step-change. Employee costs in 2025 are actually lower than 2024, and the H1→H2 increase is mild. If hours were expanded, the labor cost impact was absorbed by other efficiencies.
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Growth is broad-based, not evening-specific. Every hour of the day grew 5-31%, suggesting general business improvement (foot traffic, pricing, mix) rather than incremental evening-only activity.
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Foodservice is absent from evening hours. The higher-margin foodservice category generates zero evening revenue. Evening profitability depends entirely on merchandise margins.
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Comparison periods are unequal. "Before" includes 475 days across 2024–early 2025; "after" is 142 days in H2 2025. Some of the lift may be seasonal (summer/fall vs full-year average).
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Data gap (Feb 6 – Apr 12, 2025) falls in the "before" period, reducing 66 days of data from that window.
Grangeville's P&L doesn't show a clear labor cost spike tied to expanded hours. But the store is performing meaningfully better — +11% revenue, +12% margin, with noticeable evening activity growth (especially 10 PM – 1 AM). If hours were expanded, the economics work: the margin lift more than covers any added labor. The evening business is merchandise-only though — activating foodservice during evening hours could further improve the return.
Generated by Alpaca cstory-scenario skill · Extended Hours Profitability analysis · March 2026