Starting an independent convenience store or grocery business can be both exciting and challenging. Aspiring entrepreneurs in the retail industry must navigate many factors to ensure their store’s successful launch and long-term viability. From choosing a catchy business name that captures the essence of their offerings to registering the business, researching insurance options, selecting the…

The question is being asked by worried retailers all across the convenience store landscape: will flavor regulation target smokeless tobacco? The answer, unfortunately, appears to be: eventually. While smokeless tobacco is considered mostly safe for now, there are some states that have begun targeting the product. Smokeless tobacco has largely flown under the radar of…

Convenience store operators employ a wide range of technologies and strategies to help cut down on theft and improve overall store security. One exciting technology that has recently been added to their arsenal is artificial intelligence, or AI. Retailers are beefing up their security systems with AI in order to better analyze what those systems…

Frictionless checkout is a popular trend, but retailers need to evaluate if it’s a good fit for their chain. There are a number of different options for c-stores looking to implement frictionless checkout. When most people think of frictionless checkout, they usually think of Amazon Go-style Just Walk Out technology, where customers can scan an…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to transform society, especially at retail — and convenience store operators should make it their business to become familiar with its potential benefits. The sky, many maintain, appears to be the limit. The global AI retail market is projected to expand to $31.18 billion by 2028, according to a Fortune…

C-stores are providing more value for customers as they integrate their loyalty programs into their mobile app, allowing them to gain better data on shoppers and offer more targeted promotions. More c-stores are launching mobile apps and integrating their loyalty program into that app. The move from loyalty cards to a mobile loyalty program allows…

With foodservice continually growing as a major profit center for c-stores, the competition for consumer share of stomach stretches beyond other stores to include quick-service restaurants. As a result, c-store retailers need to find innovative ways to make their foodservice offering stand out. The first thing is to make sure your customers know that you…

To fuel foodservice sales, there’s nothing quite like a limited-time offer (LTO), a you-snooze-you-lose item that features creative and/or seasonal ingredients and flavors. If you offer foodservice, LTOs should be an integral part of your marketing strategy. Just about everybody suffers from some degree of FOMO (fear of missing out), so if you add a…

The notion behind frictionless shopping is the desire to have as few moving parts in a transaction as possible. For the convenience store operator looking at implementing a frictionless checkout program, deciding which type of frictionless checkout works best for your operation gets you half the way to the goal line. Frictionless checkout includes Just…

Convenience store retailers who want to introduce mobile ordering should begin by remembering why they got into retailing in the first place. Convenience stores are all about convenience. So is mobile ordering, which gives people the ability to access information, shop, place orders and pay at any time. By the time they actually enter the…