4 Big Changes Coming To 7-Eleven In 2026

When it comes to convenience stores, 7-Eleven is one of the most well-known chains. It's been around for nearly 100 years, having opened its first store in 1927. It has since spread far and wide, and there are now tens of thousands of 7-Eleven stores across 19 countries. Maybe you love browsing the plethora of snacks or maybe you love sipping on a cold, tasty 7-Eleven Slurpee (which actually has an origin story connected to Dairy Queen). There are even 7-Eleven food options that are actually healthy, such as sandwiches or salads, so there's something for everybody.

As 7-Eleven nears its 100th anniversary next year, the company is making some pretty big changes in 2026. In fact, there are four major changes coming to the convenience store chain that 7-Eleven shoppers may want to know about, including store closures and changes to the store's format.

To start, we have one massive change that will definitely affect 7-Eleven shoppers: the company is closing a whopping 645 locations across North America in 2026. While some of these stores will be completely shut down, this number also includes some locations that will be transformed into wholesale fuel locations. As part of the changes being made this year, and going into the next few years, the company is closing underperforming locations to maximize profits.

It has yet to be announced exactly which locations will be shut down this year, so you may want to keep an eye out at your local 7-Eleven to see if it will be impacted. Notably, these shutdowns are not anything new — 7-Eleven already closed over 600 locations in the last two years, so there is definitely a long-term plan in effect.

While 7-Eleven is closing underperforming stores, the parent company, Seven & I Holdings, is, at the same time, planning to open 1,300 new locations across North America through 2030. To start, the plan is to open 600 new stores between 2025 and 2027. All of these new stores will have a new format that 7-Eleven plans to implement going forward (more on that later).

Further, the new stores are being planned with the intention of implementing new equipment for food offerings that will be unique enough to set 7-Eleven apart from competitors. Just like with the closures, there is no news yet on where exactly we can expect these new 7-Eleven locations, but with thousands in the works, it's certainly possible that some may be coming to areas that were lacking the 7-Eleven experience before.

Seven & I Holdings is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of 7-Eleven for sometime in 2027 (March, at the earliest). This means that the company will go public in terms of the stock market, which will allow the public to buy shares of the company. These changes — the closures, new openings, and changes in format — all seem to have been in preparation for the IPO, as Seven & I Holdings is looking to strengthen sales and performance across North America before it goes public next year.

The IPO was originally planned for 2026 but Seven & I Holdings decided to delay it to give the company time to work out these changes. This is why the company is closing locations that aren't performing as well and changing up the format with the new locations that are planned, which brings us to the final change you can expect this year and beyond at 7-Eleven.

Moving forward, including with the new locations, the focus of 7-Eleven will be placed more on prepared foods, beverages, and the overall experience of shopping in-store. This change comes as a result of NIQ's State of Convenience's report showing that high-quality prepared foods and other food options are becoming more popular across convenience stores (with tobacco and fuel still performing strongly).

Thus, the new stores will be food-focused with equipment designed to make unique food offerings to set 7-Eleven apart from other convenience stores. For example, you can likely expect more food product launches like 7-Eleven's December, 2025 introduction of the ultra popular Japanese-style egg sandwich (which is super creamy, thanks to one ingredient) to U.S. stores.