Car washes are consistent money makers for c-stores, but evaluating how much revenue car washes can generate hinges on a range of factors from the type of car wash to the site’s location. The car wash business is certainly resilient. The International Carwash Association (ICA) released its latest survey of car wash consumer expectations on…

In-store cannabidiol (CBD) sales have been trending downward as more shoppers buy online, but c-stores have an opportunity to grow the category by elevating their CBD selections, especially as customers return to pre-pandemic CBD preferences. During the pandemic, cannabis growth was strong due to many consumers finding themselves at home and not restricted in their…

A new generation of plant-based meat-mimicking products has made headlines and attracted the attention of consumers and investors in the past years. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided them with a phenomenal experimentation opportunity, leading to a 47% jump in retail sales in 2020, per Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Sales have stagnated since as consumers…

In her insightful and perceptive book “Radical Candor,” Kim Scott provides a step-by-step approach to building winning relationships and being an inspiring leader without losing your humanity or discarding the values that have shaped your life. Great bosses across all facets of business have strong relationships with their employees, and Scott explains three principles for…

As the U.S. Hispanic population continues its rapid growth, c-stores need to consider how they are catering to this important and expanding demographic. Pew Research Center found that the Hispanic population in the U.S. hit 62.1 million in 2020, up 23% compared to the previous decade, and far outpacing the country’s 7% overall population increase…

In today’s tight labor market, finding new strategies to boost hiring and retention is key. At Weigel’s, based in Powell, Tenn., we’re changing our store employees’ work schedules to help combat the labor environment we’ve witnessed over these past three years. We’re giving full-time, hourly employees the option of choosing a four-day workweek — instead…

Seldom does a week go by without someone asking me why the convenience and gas mergers and acquisitions (M&A) environment is still so dynamic when everything else is in utter chaos. We seem to be floating along in an insulated bubble of reality. Whether its divestitures of c-stores or dealer or commercial fuels and lubes…

Convenience store retailers could be waiting until mid-2023 for decisions on remaining pre-market tobacco applications and potentially up to a year for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review all comments related to the proposed menthol cigarette and flavored cigar ban and to decide whether to draft any changes to the guidance. Federal law…

Today, nearly half of operators consider how a new food item will be packaged as part of the development process. This percentage must grow, however, to keep foodservice humming, considering takeout and delivery have taken a serious chunk of dine-in share since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Operators are dealing with historically high costs and struggle…

Over the past few years, a number of c-store operators introduced mobile apps with the goal of fulfilling an imperative to “go digital.” Digital, however, is much more than an app; a comprehensive strategy includes data, customer relationship management (CRM), social media, optimization and more. In this column, we’ll focus on five key parts of…