I’m sure everyone will join me in saying good riddance to 2021, and let’s hope 2022 brings good health, and personal and professional growth. As we move into a new year, we are working hard on the upcoming National Advisory Group (NAG) conference scheduled for March 27-30 in La Jolla, Calif. Personally, I can’t wait…

CStore Decisions, for the 10th consecutive year, is recognizing convenience store chains standing out on social media. For the second year running, CStore Decisions partnered with Rival IQ to determine the c-store chains going above and beyond on social media. Rival IQ, which was recently acquired by global consumer and market intelligence company NetBase Quid,…

For a number of years, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) has argued that the “C” in its name could actually stand for community — and during the COVID-19 pandemic, shoppers seemed to agree. This emphasis on community offers important opportunities and challenges for convenience store operators, especially when it comes to meeting consumer…

In today’s tight labor market and age of digital disruption, convenience store chains need young executive talent who can lead the company into tomorrow. That’s why CStore Decisions, in partnership with the National Advisory Group’s (NAG) Young Executives Organization (YEO), is recognizing the industry’s next-generation leaders who are standing out at their c-store chains for…

I sat down to write this column after honoring Yesway as our 2021 Convenience Store Chain of the Year at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show in Chicago. It felt so good to be out with the industry again and to recognize the hard work all retail chains have done these past 12…

Congress is planning to make a number of “adjustments” to our basic income and estate taxes, changes that will purportedly impact several commonly used estate planning strategies. That means most convenience store owners, operators, franchisees and executives should get their house in order in preparation for increased federal estate taxes. After months of proposals for…

It’s football season, so let’s approach in-store merchandising, layout and adjacencies in the context of football. Guests entering your store most often have a primary need (goal) in mind when they arrive. It’s likely this goal falls into one of three categories — hungry, thirsty or comfort. Think of them finishing the quest to satisfy…

Many people didn’t know what a ghost kitchen was before the pandemic, but now it seems the word is everywhere. COVID-19 afflicted the restaurant industry in such a limiting way in 2020, that every restaurant was a ghost kitchen for a period. Ghost kitchens are kitchens that are optimized to fulfill restaurant orders that will…

The convenience store industry continues to grow sales at record numbers, but the stakes have never been higher as convenience store owners face competition from multiple retail channels. The National Advisory Group (NAG) has been working overtime to create an environment where small, mid-sized and family-owned retailers can interact with one another and share ideas for…

A few months ago, as part of Datassential’s “2021 Midyear Trend Report,” we asked consumers a wide variety of questions about their planned behaviors and attitudes, particularly as operators across the country opened again and consumers started to get back to some sense of normalcy. One of the questions we asked was whether they planned…