Convenience Matters

The Biden Administration wants half a million EV charging units in the U.S. by 2030. Retailers, utilities, and other businesses are brainstorming how to make it happen on target and on budget. Related Links: Fuels Institute EV Council reports Hosted by: John Eichberger, Executive Director, Fuels Institute and Paige Anderson, Director of Government Relations, NACS About our Guest: Erika Myers, Acti...

Working with trusted partners and tying metrics to project outcomes is imperative to success. Related Links: Stuzo webpage Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare and Donovan Woods About our Guest: As Stuzo's Chief Marketing Officer, Aaron leads the company's marketing department, supports go-to-market efforts, and leads media relations, analyst relations, and product marketing. Aaron is also a serial technolo...

Technology makes everything move faster, even customer visits. Forward-thinking retailers are focusing on self-checkout and mobile payment options with the goal of increasing customer traffic. Related Links: NACS Convenience Retail Technology Implementation & Benchmarks J & H Family Stores Gilbarco Veeder-Root Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS About our Guests: Patri...

Learn how to better handle and react to change with easy-to-remember, life-changing tools in this fun and uplifting episode. Related Links: Being Better with Jennifer Powers Website Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Rose Johnson, Audience Development and Production Manager, NACS About our Guest: Jennifer Powers, Master Certified Coach, Powerhouse, Inc. In 2009, J...

Investing in new store equipment and lights can save thousands of dollars per year. How does your store measure up? Related Links: NACS Convenience Store Energy Use Survey NACS/Energy Star Tools NACS Energy Star Survey Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Paige Anderson, Director of Government Relations, NACS About our Guest: Patrick Loftus, Survey Research and Data...

Good leaders appreciate that employee experience is critical to the delivery of a great customer experience. Related Links: The Michelli Experience Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Rose Johnson, Audience Development and Production Manager, NACS About our Guest: Joseph Michelli, CEO, The Michelli Experience Joseph A. Michelli, Ph. D., C.S.P., is a speaker, author...

Two things stand out in great c-stores around the world: friendly customer service and tidy, clean stores. Related Links: Insight Research Website CAF European 2021 C-Store Shopper Insights Survey Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS About our Guests: Nick Scherzer, Director, Insight Research Insight Director, Nick Scherzer...

Convenience stores sell a lot of food, but finding a destination for unused food is important. Donating leftover food is easy with Feeding America for both small and large c-store operators. Related Links: Feeding America Corporate Donations MealConnect NACS Information on Donations Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives,...

High-quality, effective, and well-designed digital content is important, especially when the goal is to enhance the customer experience. Related Links: Abierto Sample Content LG Business Solutions Episode #248 The Future of Forecourt Communication is in Pixels Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS About our Guests: Rick Sales, President, Abierto Enrique (Rick) Sales has...

Testing, learning, analyzing and ruffling some feathers are some of the keys to success for launching new ideas. Related Links: Andy Ellwood's website Hosted by: Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS and Britt Brewer, Marketing Manager, NACS About our Guest: Andy Ellwood, Founder, Basket Andy Ellwood is an Executive Coach based in NYC and serves coaching partners worldwide. Andy partners with...

The inaugural 2020 Fuel Leaders report, published by Fuels Market News and NACS and compiled by OPIS, tracks the performance of over 250 fuel retailers with a solid overview of the industry's top 50 fuel operators. In this episode, we'll talk about the methodology and analysis behind the rankings. Related Links: 2020 Fuel Leaders, Fuels Market News Magazine OPIS Brand Power Ranking Report OPIS Ret...

Having an app is not a strategy, it's just one step in building a cohesive digital strategy to enhance the customer's experience. Find out what else makes up a digitally sophisticated brand. Related Links: Hathway Website Hosted by: Donovan Woods, Director of Operations, Fuels Institute and Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS About our Guests: Matt Carinio, VP, Strategy, Hathway With 20 year...

According to this independent operator, "your net worth is your network" and connecting with other entrepreneurs is the best way to grow your business. Hear tips to attract and retain employees and beat your competition from 3-store convenience retailer, Bassem Nowyhed. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS About o...

Innovation is important but it must be done with purpose and intention and with leadership to lead it and a culture to accept it. How do you take innovation from the C-suite to the C-store? Related Links: Leapfrogging Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS About our Guest: Soren Kaplan, Managing Principal, InnovationPoint Soren...

According to NACS research, 2021 is shaping up to be a good year for c-store sales. But, it depends whether you compare sales to 2019 or 2020, what category you're looking at, where you live and whether trends stay or go. Related Links: NACS Research NACS State of the Industry Report NACS | CSX Hosted by: Donovan Woods, Director of Operations, Fuels Institute and Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategis...

Convenience store sales of fresh and prepackaged foodservice items have grown exponentially in the last decade. Find out what convenient options prevailed during the pandemic and are expected to propel growth into the future. Related Links: Core-Mark website Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS About our Guest: Ja...

Most convenience retailers have food safety processes and training in place, many also find that that a lack of consistency and agreement among employees is driving an increased focus on food safety culture. Related Links: Cultivate Food Safety website NACS Magazine, October 2020 "Growing a Culture of Food Safety" NACS Magazine, July 2017 "Protecting Your Food Brand" NACS Food Safety Resources Hos...

Retail competition for share of customer dollars has never been so great as the lines between channels continue to blur. Seamless digital experiences earn a customer's loyalty - no matter how, where and when they shop. Related Links: Stuzo Website NACS Daily "Rewards Programs Boost Store Transactions" Hosted by: Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Donovan Woods, Director of O...

24/7 Day spotlights the convenience retail industry's important role in supporting the communities served and where convenience stores can show these frontline workers they care in small, tangible ways. Find out how to get involved on July 24th at 247Day.org. Related Links: 24/7 Day NACS Foundation Homepage Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS About our Guests: Stephanie...

A Renewable Identification Number, aka a RIN, is a credit that gets attached to every renewable fuel gallon that gets produced in the United States. In this episode, we're going to talk about renewable fuels, what's going on with the prices of RINs, how they relate to EVs and fuel demand. Related Links: RIN Alliance Fuels Institute Report "Biomass-Based Diesel: A Market and Performance Analysis NA...

AAA forecasts 34.4 million Americans will travel by car for the 2021 Memorial Day holiday weekend. How can convenience retailers prepare travelers for their safe return to the road? Related Links: AAA AAA Newsroom Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS About our Guest: Andrew Gross, Public Relations Manager, AAA Nat...

The U.S. charging infrastructure is ramping up to keep up with EV owner demand. This innovative solution put charging in the hands of car owners...conveniently, of course. Related Links: Spark Charge Fuels Institute EV Market Regulatory Report Carpool Chats Episode #23: Charging on the Run Hosted by: Donovan Woods, Director of Operations, Fuels Institute and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Init...

While total industry transactions declined nearly 14% in 2020, basket sizes increased by almost 19% compared with 2019. We're digging into those numbers to identify the opportunities retailers can activate this year and beyond. Related Links: NACS Research NACS State of the Industry Survey NACS State of the Industry Report Blog: The Why Behind Convenience Stores Previous Episodes featuring Lori St...

Consumers are interested in a sense of fulfillment when they shop their local convenience store, whether through innovative products, store cleanliness or friendly interactions with employees. In this episode, we're talking about how retailers can meet and exceed customer needs by incorporating modern store design. Related Links: Cenex LIFT Initiative Cenex Home Page Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP Str...

NACS Convenience Voices research examines data from thousands of convenience store shoppers through mobile interviews to learn about their preferences, behaviors, attitudes and purchases. Hear about opportunities retailers can capitalize on to grow sales and increase customer frequency. Related Links: NACS Convenience Voices Program Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS a...