Beer and wine sales climbed at convenience stores during the pandemic, as customers turned to their local retailers for purchases as lockdowns and social distancing drew customers away from bars and restaurants. In 2021, that sales momentum is expected to continue. “We haven’t had a flat year to date and don’t expect to start in…
ACE Opens Registration for 34th Annual Conference
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has opened registration for its 34th annual conference taking place from Aug.18-20 at the Renaissance Depot Hotel in Minneapolis. This year’s “Accelerate” conference theme and programming focus on the latest growth strategies and market opportunities shaping the future of the ethanol industry. “With high hopes of gathering safely, in person,…
Meaty Sales Expected for Roller Grill
In the midst of the pandemic, some retailers paused roller grill sales, while others brought the segment behind the counter to meet COVID-19 safety requirements, while continuing to serve guests. Roller grill remains an integral and consistent part of the expansive foodservice segment at Rutter’s convenience stores, which has 78 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and…
POS & Back Office Evolve
When it comes to point-of-sale (POS) and back-office technology, a number of emerging trends are expected to pick up steam in 2021. Hybrid POS systems and hardware-agnostic POS software are two areas for convenience stores to watch in the year ahead, noted Patrick Raycroft, the Convenience and Energy vertical lead at W. Capra Consulting Group.…
Tobacco Accessories Tick Up
For years, the most innovative development to hit the subcategory of tobacco accessories was lighter covers highlighting sports teams or colorful designs. There were even the occasional movie- or TV-based themes to attract mega fans. So when BIC introduced the EZ Reach lighter with an extended wand last summer, surely convenience store operators and managers…
Tight Market for RYO
2020 proved a tough year for the roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco segment at convenience stores. “Looking at same-store sales of 2020 versus 2019, we continued to see a downward trend on the RYO category, down 6%; however, that trend slowed some in Q4,” noted Tim Greene, category director of tobacco and general manager for Smoker Friendly.…
Build Relationships Through Loyalty Marketing
Did you know it costs five times more to acquire new customers than it does to retain current customers? And did you know existing customers are 50% more likely to try a new product of yours as well as spend 31% more than new customers? Whether or not you currently have a loyalty program that…
Flavors, Functionality Drive Bottled Water, Sports Drinks
Plain bottled water continues its popularity among consumers, but new flavors and features will bring opportunities to both bottled water and sports drinks in 2021. “Bottled water is dominated by the big brands from the major companies,” said Gary Hemphill, managing director of research at Beverage Marketing Corp. “They have the infrastructure and the economies…
Energy Drinks Enjoy Upswing
As customers hunkered down during 2020 lockdowns due to COVID-19, many looked to energy drinks to help them power through lockdown and pandemic fatigue. According to IRI, the convenience store channel during calendar year 2020, ending Dec. 27, saw sales top $9.8 billion, a 2.5% increase. Leading the way in the category were Red Bull,…
Bakery Looks to Rebound
In 2021, c-stores are looking to recoup fresh bakery sales after the COVID-19 pandemic sent 2020 bakery sales plummeting. Nouria Energy, which has 127 convenience stores in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, had big plans to expand its two-year-old fresh bakery segment last year, but the pandemic brought those plans to a sudden…