Convenience Matters

The gas price sign used to be the most important means of communications to attract drivers to c-stores. Today, digital communications have unleashed many other more effective opportunities to tell customers about your offer by appealing to their known behaviors. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Fred Dimesa, Head of Product for Marketing Solutions, Arity Fred is head of product for marketin...

We look at some of the preliminary numbers related to industry performance—and what it means to you. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Chris Rapanick, Managing Director, NACS Research Chris oversees the day-to-day operations of NACS Research, manages and directs departmental financial and operational performance, and drives strategic development of NACS long-term research capabilities and of...

Beer accounts for about 7% of all dollars spent inside convenience stores. What are some of the trends that could affect sales in 2025? Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Benj Steinman, President, Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS Benj is the president of Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS Inc., the leading trade publisher for the United States brewing industry since 1970. He is publisher...

New policies from the Trump Administration could affect the broader fuels market in 2025 and beyond. Find out what could impact retailers. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Denton Cinquegrana, Chief Oil Analyst, OPIS Denton has been with OPIS since 2001 and serves as the chief oil analyst, responsible for the day-to-day operations of OPIS' news and analysis division. In his role, he also pro...

Here are some of the top retail-focused trends seem at the January 2025 NRF Show. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Tim Tang, Director, Business Technologies, Hughes With 30 years of professional experience in developing enterprise solutions, Tim studies various enterprise markets (e.g. restaurant, retail, and banking/finance) to anticipate trends that will enable enterprise customers to ful...

In just over a half century since the first c-store opened in Tokyo, the definition of convenience has been reshaped over and over throughout Asia. Hear what the big ideas are in Tokyo and which ones could be coming to your market. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Mark Wohltmann, Director, NACS Global Mark is responsible for the strategic development of NACS Global, a worldwide network that...

Here are the top trends for 2025 that have the potential to shape convenience retail operations and the customer experience. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Lauren Shanesy, Editor/Writer, NACS Lauren has more than a decade of business journalism experience crafting content for print and online media sites. At NACS she works on operations, strategy and content development for print and digi...

From our most downloaded podcast of 2024, we're revisiting conversations around finding great food at the local gas station. Hear more on these hidden gems. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Stafford Shurden, Creator, Gas Station Tailgate Review Stafford is a restaurant owner and farmer from Drew, MS. Over the past four years between managing his farm and restaurant, he has traveled the sout...

Technology is vital for adapting to rapid changes. We're breaking down what it means and what you need to do. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Gray Taylor, Executive Director, Conexxus Gray has been involved with a variety of projects, including heading global product management for three of the world's largest retail petroleum equipment and systems suppliers, and as vice president of resea...

Tobacco theft is the new face of organized crime. Flavor bans, higher taxes, and raising the legal purchase age to 21 have all contributed to a thriving black market for tobacco and vape products. Hear how you can protect your staff and business against tobacco and vape theft. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Rich Marianos, Assistant Director (Retired), Bureau of Alcoh...

We're sharing some of the insights and takeaways from the latest Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on credit card swipe fees, and talk about what it means to retailers. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Doug Kantor, NACS General Counsel Doug has served as legal counsel for NACS for more than 20 years, originally as a partner with the law firms Collier Shannon Scott PLLC and Steptoe & Johnso...

In November, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the need for competition in the credit card market. Hear what NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor told committee members on behalf of the c-store industry. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Doug Kantor, NACS General Counsel Doug has served as legal counsel for NACS for more than 20 years, originally as a partner with the law firms Co...

EVs aren't the only option to reduce carbon emissions. E-fuels could close potential emission reduction gaps in the U.S. or accelerate emission reduction efforts for road transportation. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: John Eichberger, Executive Director, Transportation Energy Institute John has more than 20 years of experience in the fuels industry, including more than a decade leading th...

Before the AMBER Alert system, there was the Milk Carton Kids campaign in the 1980s. Today, technology is further enhancing the search for missing children—and retailers can help. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Gavin Portnoy, Vice President, Communications & Brand, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Gavin builds strategies to elevate NCMEC's brand, which include creating new...

A recent poll suggests that public confidence regarding food safety is eroding. To better connect with their customers, companies can do more to communicate their policies and procedures. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Benjamin Chapman, Professor, Food Safety Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University Through reality-based research, Ben investigates beha...

Chefs Andrew Zimmern and David Chang are big fans of convenience stores and their food offers. At the NACS Show, they shared their passion for food and how c-stores can continue to elevate their foodservice to stand out among the competition. And they loved visiting the Expo! Hosted by: Andrew Kintigh, Corporate Chef, Casey's About our Guests: Chef Andrew Zimmern Andrew is an Emmy-winning and four...

Visa has used fees and strong-arm tactics to bend the U.S. payments system to its liking, leading to higher fees and less innovation than many other countries. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Doug Kantor, General Counsel, NACS Doug has served as legal counsel for NACS for more than 20 years, originally as a partner with the law firms Collier Shannon Scott PLLC and Steptoe & Johnson LLP. He...

Artificial Intelligence is already changing how businesses operate. At the 2024 NACS Show, a panel discussed what retailers can do now to enhance their business operations with AI. Hosted by: Henry Armour About our Guests: Brian Gray, Global Mobility Retail Lead, Accenture Brian leads Accenture's Global and North America Fuels & Convenience Retail practice and helps clients solve challenges and di...

During his 2024 NACS Show presentation, Juan energized the audience with ideas to ignite their confidence. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Juan Bendaña, motivational speaker Juan is an internationally recognized speaker who helps leaders navigate uncertainty and exponential change by developing the unwavering confidence to thrive in any environment.

Chip payment cards for SNAP transactions are coming, starting in two states in early 2025. Hear what you need to do now to prepare, whether you do business in those states or others. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Margaret Mannion, NACS Government Relations Manager Margaret focuses on issues including SNAP, food traceability and retail crime. She joined the NACS government relations team...

It's no secret that great team members are the reason behind the success of the Disney experience. We'll get a preview from NACS Show speaker Doug Lipp on how to create a unique experience in your stores. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Doug Lipp, NACS Show speaker, consultant, former head of training at Disney Doug is a distinguished consultant, business keynote speaker, eight-time busine...

Convenience retail continues to be reinvented by more than 1.5 million c-store operators around the world. Hear how trends around the customer journey, loyalty and EVs are evolving. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guests: Roy Strasburger, CEO, StrasGlobal Roy is a 4th generation retailer and is currently CEO of StrasGlobal, a retail support and consulting company. He co-founded the Vision Group N...

Rutter's has redefined its customer experience so its foodservice offer can best resonate with customers, whether they are refueling or shopping inside the store. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guests: Phil Santini, Senior Director of Advertising & Food Service, The Rutter's Companies Phil oversees the York, Pennsylvania-based convenience-store chain's foodservice program and is also in charge o...

We're breaking down two of the biggest questions fuel retailers have faced in decades: Will installing EV chargers be good for my business, and how do I launch a program? Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Karl Doenges, Executive Director, Charging Analytics Program Karl represents NACS on the coming disruption in mobility and how that affects convenience retailers. In this role, Karl focuses...

Convenience store design has come a long way from the standard 40x60 box. Today, design involves many new elements, including brand strategy. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Amanda Baltazar, Retail & Hospitality Journalist Amanda is a journalist with 20+ years of experience and expertise in foodservice, beverages, restaurants/bars and overall retail. She covers everything from operations t...