Halloween consumer spending this year is projected to reach an all-time high of $10.14 billion, up from $8.05 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. “This year in particular, we see an emphasis on Halloween spending from families,” said Prosper Insights Executive Vice President…

Providing great leadership during the best of times can make or break a business. Leadership during a global pandemic is downright daunting. People look to leaders for guidance on what to do, what to expect and how to act. During uncertain and fluid times, the need for strong, calm, trustworthy leadership is more important than…

Amanda Gray is the Executive Director of the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association. As a working mom of three young kids, I agree that universal pre-kindergarten education – as proposed in the current spending package spearheaded by congressional Democrats – would be good for families and society.  However, the positive components of the spending package could be…

CStore Decisions (CSD) and the Young Executives Organization (YEO) need your help identifying next-generation leaders for our 2021 class of 40 Under 40 C-Store Leaders to Watch. Do you work with bright, up-and-coming young executives or next-generation leaders who are under 40 years old? In today’s tight labor market and age of digital disruption, convenience…

At the end of last summer, the alcoholic beverage category at convenience stores was seeing a surge of new product innovation, shoppers were stocking up on big packs of beer and hard seltzer to drink at home, and retailers were combating out-of-stocks due to supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later,…

Neon Marketplace arrived on the scene in mid-2020, opening two stores in New England in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when most c-store retailers were grappling with a deluge of new and shifting operating practices. A year later, the Cranston, R.I.-based chain is finalizing a well-tested prototype design that incorporates its…

It’s no secret to convenience retailers that saving on costs is crucial to succeeding in an increasingly competitive landscape. Energy efficiency upgrades can turn those pennies saved into pennies earned. The energy savings hype is definitely focused on LED lighting — and with good reason. As the technology evolves and those fixtures become more efficient,…

Loss prevention is an important consideration for all convenience stores, but every chain approaches it differently. Marietta, Ohio-based Par Mar Oil Co., which operates 165-plus Par Mar Stores in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, is currently working to streamline its strategy, said Terri Caldwell, regional director of operations for the chain. Caldwell’s been with…

When consumers think of stopping at a convenience store, health and beauty aids (HBA) and personal care items probably don’t rank high on the list of reasons. At least, not until that customer finds herself with a headache and no pain reliever or forgets to put on deodorant that morning. That’s when this often-overlooked category…

The pet CBD products market is set to achieve $561 million in sales in 2021, up 30% from 2020, and is expected to reach $1.1 billion in 2026, representing a 15% compound annual growth rate. This was one of the best-performing product types in 2020, aided by national pet chains Petco and PetSmart starting to…