Here in New Jersey, there’s no such thing as “self-serve” at the pump. Anytime someone pulls into a gas station and purchases fuel for their, car, truck, trailered jet ski, fuel can, lawnmower, etc., they will wait for a fuel attendant to perform this task for them. It doesn’t matter how much of a rush…

The National Retail Federation (NRF) faced difficult decisions preceding the January 2022 annual “BIG Show” conference at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Once the wave of Omicron cases began to cover the U.S. in late December, a not-insignificant number of high-profile exhibitors and speakers pulled out, and registered attendees tapped…

Top quartile c-store retailers have adapted their offering and execution to meet changing customer needs, but the threat of disruption grows louder still. While most retailers have been grappling with how to transform themselves amid digital disruption for some time, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced new and unexpected challenges. Still, many c-store chains are responding with…

Retailers arrived in New York City to learn the latest trends and view cutting-edge products shaping the retail landscape in 2019. By David Hochman The NRF, “Retails BIG Show,” is known for showcasing the technologies that power the retail industry. The show floor, which basically covers an entire Manhattan city block, encompasses 700+ exhibitors. Those…

Embracing emerging technology is key in powering growth at retail. By: David Hochman 2017 was quite a year for the retail industry, with game-changing acquisitions, technology disruptions continuing at a lightning-fast rate and a new term, the “Retail Apocalypse,” used to describe the glut of store closing announcements, became popular. If that gives off the…

A.I., loyalty, big data, predictive analytics and in-store tech showcased at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Retail’s BIG Show. By David Hochman The National Retail Federation (NRF) Retail’s BIG Show drew retailers to New York City from Jan. 15-17. At last year’s show, the rise of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in retail was cited as one…

By David Hochman, Founder, DJH Marketing Communications Everything from limiting the points-of-entry, to controlling which employees have access to high-value storage rooms, access control solutions can cover many different aspects of convenience store security and risk management. The convenience store category collectively faces a number of challenges with regards to building access control to consider.…

By Dave Hochman, Founder, DJH Marketing Communications Inc. There have been quite a few new flavors added to the marketing mix over the past few years. One of the most interesting for the C-Store is called Influencer Marketing. Influencer Marketing is basically marketing that takes aim at specific key individuals as opposed to demographically based…

By David Hochman, founder of DJH Marketing Communications Inc. A child or even a dog left in a car with the engine running while parked at a suburban strip mall accidentally engages the transmission and sends an SUV headfirst into a convenience storefront window. After filling up, an elderly woman hits the pedal instead of…

By David Hochman, founder of DJH Marketing Communications Inc. With so many exhibitors (over 600) displaying their wares at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference (it’s called The Big Show for a reason) earlier this month, it would be an impossible task to try to cover them all. That doesn’t stop the army of PR…