If I asked your employees, “What’s it like to work at your company?” their answers would largely describe your company culture. How would your employees answer? Would you like what you heard? If not, a leader’s responsibility is to change that. This will be a key topic of discussion at the 2022 National Advisory Group…

America has been a car culture since long before the pandemic, but the past two years have cemented that status.  At a time when many consumers couldn’t go into stores and restaurants, they relied on their cars to pick up meals and groceries at unprecedented rates — or used third-party delivery drivers to do it…

In 1954, American psychologist James Olds and Canadian neuroscientist Peter Milner conducted an experiment to explore the psychological basis of rewards. They found that it’s not actually the rewards that motivate action, but rather it’s the anticipation of a reward, or the stress of desire that catalyzes action. Since then, as a result of predictability…

The National Advisory Group (NAG), a convenience store trade association focused on small, mid-sized and family-owned businesses, has a long history dedicated to helping convenience store owners improve their businesses through education and networking. Through the years, many individuals have selflessly dedicated their time and energy to ensuring NAG succeeds and holds a special place…

According to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $23.9 billion this year — up from $21.8 billion in 2021 and the second-highest year on record. “Following the historic level of consumer spending over the winter holidays, it appears that…

Should your convenience store embrace third-party, aggregated delivery services? As the pandemic stretches on, it’s time to re-examine the pros, cons, risks and costs. Could the pros of paying others for delivery services, ostensibly justified in net-new incremental sales, be far outweighed by the cons of unknowingly donating your SKU-level sales data to third-party intermediaries…

The snacking consumer returned to c-stores in 2021, driving double-digit sales increases for both salty and meat snacks. Hot and spicy flavor profiles are on fire in the category as supply chain disruption and an inflationary economy failed to douse flavor innovation and optimism for the coming year. “2021 has seen huge growth in center…

After a tremendous sales year in 2020, beer sales came back down to earth in 2021 as customers returned to life as usual. According to NielsenIQ Total U.S. Convenience data, total beer sales for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 20, 2021, decreased by 3.6% totaling $19 billion. One year earlier, for the 52 weeks ending…

Whole pie or by the slice, pizza remains a foodservice favorite, and it continues to trend upward.  According to Datassential’s 2021 Pizza Keynote report, 88% of consumers were eating more or the same amount of pizza as the previous year, and 95% of restaurant, retail and on-site operators believed their pizza sales would increase or…

Electric vehicles are grabbing the headlines. Auto manufacturers like Ford have committed to an all-electric F-150 pickup truck, while convenience store chains, concerned about the future of fuel sales, are exploring options for installing electric vehicle charging (EVC) stations. Carbon neutral remains a buzz-phrase hanging over the oil industry, while the Biden administration released new…