It is safe to say these past weeks have been among the most difficult and emotional that any of us can remember in our lifetimes. The impact of the coronavirus outbreak has been felt by individuals and families, companies and communities, across the country and around the world. All of us at CStore Decisions, the…

“Epic Convenience” was the title for my planned remarks for the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA) annual expo, which I didn’t get to share because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But I was prepared to share the monumental changes we’ve seen with technologies in the Convenience/Petro industry. These times are truly epic…

Nobody saw this coming. Just two months ago, we were in our 11th year of an economic expansion; unemployment was at a 50-year old low; and March Madness was right around the corner. Then the bottom fell out. With roughly one-third of the world’s population in a lockdown (just think about that for a moment),…

It’s never too late to prepare. Target is cleaning checkout lines every 30-minutes, Starbucks is banning travel mugs. “It shows that they understand what the issues are,” says Barbara Kahn, professor of marketing at The Wharton School of Business. Kahn also stated that feeling safe while shopping will outlast the virus itself. But will it…

The New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA) invited me to speak at their 2020 annual Expo on the latest technologies in the Convenience/Petro industry. I titled my remarks “Epic Convenience.” Like most events these days, it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus. I thought I’d share the opening video I prepared,…

Early on, I began the habit, when visiting a convenience store, of pretending it was the first time I had ever seen the location. I viewed the store with fresh eyes and recorded a list of the things that impressed me, or conversely depressed me, about each location. I made sure that some of these…

While vape crisis may have caused CBD speed bump, sales boost likely as consumers expect more brick-and-mortar outlets to carry edibles, topicals. Cannabis was the leading human herbal medicine for 4,000 years and CBD is the primary cannabinoid associated with wellness and anxiety/stress relief. With this level of history, you may think that CBD would…

In the age of disruption, savvy c-store retailers are looking outside of their own industry and competing channels to how other industries are solving similar challenges as they consider ideas like foodservice trends and new technology. Ramon Lo, publisher of Airport Experience News, shares his insights on how the airport industry is adapting to the…

You own a bunch of stores all varying in size and age. Over the years, product assortments and sets have come and gone, and you have ridden certain designs into the ground. Each of your stores needs a refresher, but you do not know where to start. How does a multi-unit operator approach this? This…

I have a small chain of convenience stores in the Pacific Northwest. Coffee sales are flat, if not down. How do I inject life (and sales) into this important hot beverage category? Fair question, and one that should on the mind of all owners across every category in your stores. Depending where you are located in…