Amazon’s Whole Foods acquisition shows brick-and-mortar and online retailing can help strengthen each other when brought together. By Ed Collupy With what seems like the click of the mouse, Amazon has made its entry into the physical retail store world with its planned acquisition of Whole Foods. This didn’t come as a big surprise to…
Moving Forward With Payment Technology
As EMV implementation wraps up, retailers must consider where mobile payment solutions are headed. By Ed Collupy The baseball season is in full swing and I’m reminded as I continue to think about card payments in the petro/convenience store industry of the quote from the great Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And…
EMV Hopes – An Implementation Update
As retailers struggle with compliance, chargebacks from the liability shift have been larger than anyone in the industry anticipated. By Ed Collupy The implementation of EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) chip card acceptance should be history for inside payment transactions at convenience stores after the much-anticipated October 2015 shift in liability to merchants for counterfeit…
Store Data Deserves Protection Too
As c-store retailers implement enhanced inventory-management solutions, they should also consider doing more to secure inventory data. By Ed Collupy So much of the attention on data security in the last few years has been focused on payments and many companies throughout the convenience fuel retailing industry have implemented measures to protect their customer’s data.…
EMV: Stalled at the Pump?
Despite recently announced extension to 2020, retailers should not put off the EMV transition. By Ed Collupy The convenience and fuel retailing industry is buzzing about the announcements from VISA, Mastercard, and American Express that they will delay most of the liability shift for automated fuel dispenser (AFD EMV chip card transactions by three years.…
Thankful For….
As we gear up for Thanksgiving, here are some things the convenience store industry can be thankful for. By Ed Collupy Thankful For…. Technology in the CStore/Petro industry… Handheld devices, connected wirelessly for computer assisted ordering Applicant tracking systems for the many new people looking to join the industry workforce Networking solutions to keep data…
No Reward in Overturning Debit Reform
Swipe fees continue to eat away at retailer profits. The income banks gain when consumers use credit cards has increased by more than 50% since 2009, while debit card fees has increased at a slower rate. By Ed Collupy Front-page news is certainly an attention grabber. The Boston Globe, in its Thursday Oct. 27, 2016…
Follow Your Own Technical Compass
No matter where you choose to operate your c-store chain, technological opportunities exist throughout the U.S. By Ed Collupy Compasses have been sailors’ companions for years helping them navigate unfamiliar waters. This election year we’ve certainly heard of the moral compass candidates follow. In business, I’ve helped execute a business strategy guided by “true north.”…
Adopters and Adapters
By Ed Collupy, executive consultant, W. Capra Consulting Group My recent business travels took me by my city neighborhood grammar school. It reminded me of the many yearly assignments to write a story about my summer vacation. My travels these past two summers have been to both new and familiar places and more car travel than…
EMV – A Journey to Learn From
The c-store industry isn’t the only one struggling to roll out EMV. By Ed Collupy Clearly there are more places where your EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) chip card is being accepted, but there is still quite a road to travel before it is fully implemented. Convenience petroleum retailers aren’t alone with so few stores…