Only 6% of convenience retailers are pessimistic for the first quarter of 2016. A recent survey from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) has revealed that convenience store retailers expect the robust sales in 2015 to continue into the first quarter of 2016. Retailers said that overall sales in 2015 were strong, with more…
Top 100 Sellers In 33 C-Stores Located In Mississippi, November 2015
By Bill Scott, founder of StoreReport LLC & Scott Systems Inc. This is the 3rd in a series of sales sorted by rank for the current and previous months. This month we are featuring the November 2015 rankings compared to the October 2015 ranks. The Change +/- Column is the number of positions gained or…
What Consumer Trends Are Ahead for 2016?
Consumer trends continue to evolve as we head into 2016. Mintel has revealed four key North American consumer trends that are expected to impact the U.S. market in 2016. Mintel consumer trends consultants Stacy Glasgow and Jenny Zegler are looking ahead to 2016 and have revealed implications for both consumers and brands in the coming…
Kwik Trip Leads By Example
Kwik Trip’s Steve Loehr has embraced the ideals of health and freshness, helping usher in a new era for the c-store industry. By Anne Baye Ericksen, Contributing Editor In the 25 years since Steve Loehr joined Kwik Trip Inc., the La Crosse, Wis.-based convenience retailer has experienced extraordinary growth, reaching numerous corporate milestones. Today, Loehr,…
How to Execute Effective Facilities Management
Rapid adaptation is one key component to dealing with industry issues. The Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM) has revealed key trends that are impacting retailers, along with a review of the current state of retail facilities management. The report also highlights the top five issues that are impacting industry professionals. The Internet of Things tops the…
Retailers are Optimistic About the Fourth Quarter
Consumer and retailer optimism are up as the third quarter of 2015 comes to a close, and they seem to have good reason. The first nine months of 2015 have brought growth to convenience store sales at the pump as well as inside the store. According to a report from the National Association of Convenience…
LED Pushes Lighting Advances Forward
For NOCO Express, last December’s grand opening of its newly rebuilt store in Grand Island, N.Y. marks the evolution of its stores—and on a lesser scale—its commitment to more efficient lighting. The renovation took the formerly 950-square-foot store to 4,000 square feet, and included environmentally-friendly building technologies to reduce energy consumption. These include low-watt LED…
Car Washes Trending Upward
An improving economy has helped buoy car wash sales in some regions—a trend expected to continue in 2015. “We are seeing consistent top-line growth over the past 18 months—car wash counts (cars washed) and average ticket (average money spent by the consumer per wash) have both been trending upward,” said Eric Wulf, CEO of the…
ATMs Help C-Stores Cash In
The National ATM Council Inc. estimates there are upwards of 425,000 ATMs throughout the U.S. The majority are independently owned or operated as opposed to those operated by financial institutions. In fact, as banks have broadened online services, traffic to brick-and-mortar branches has softened, including visits to walk-up or drive-up ATMs. This situation has prompted…
HBA Set To Grow This Year
Convenience stores will continue to do steady business with the health and beauty aid (HBA) category in 2015 and beyond as long as they stick to their knitting: good assortment, smaller package sizes, sharper merchandising, dependable employee assistance and seasonal products in stock when needed. Notably broad, the HBA category encompasses a slew of home…