It’s impossible to know if the pool of customers hired by market research firm Corporate Research International (CRI) would have pegged Speedway SuperAmerica LLC as the leader in customer service five years ago. The Enon, Ohio-based marketer wasn’t even among the handful of convenience store chains whose customer service was evaluated quarterly by the research…

A portrait of 1 in 2 American consumers at the dawn of 2008: cash-strapped, bargain-hungry and fuel-fatigued. So says research by The Nielsen Co., where 49% of U.S. consumers surveyed said they were slicing spending to compensate for rising gas prices. The high price of regular gas in December 2007 was $3.06 per gallon, and…

Overall retail sales are slowing at mass, dollar and grocery stores, but confectionery sales remain strong for convenience operators. The U.S. retail confectionery category generated approximately $29 billion in sales in 2007 and the profit margin for the category was approximately 35%, according to the National Confectioners Association’s (NCA) U.S. Confectionery Market report released last…

America’s changing demographic will continue to add new contours to the beer category, and that has some operators optimistic that beer could experience strong spring and summer selling seasons. The major breweries are expected to introduce products that target health-conscious consumers. For example, SABMiller this month will begin test-marketing its Miller Lite Brewers Collection, consisting…