Savvy c-store operators are using customer loyalty/scan-data-analysis programs to improve merchandise planning, forecasting and point-of-sale (POS) data management, and to provide a technology platform for long-term growth. When done well, the inevitable result is to empower store personnel to react quickly, make more informed decisions and improve cost effectiveness, so they can simplify customers’ lives.…
Dipping Into New Profits
In a market plagued by high taxes, declining gross margin profits on cigarettes and the likely possibility of FDA restrictions on tobacco, retailers more than ever need to manage the tobacco category more closely. It’s no secret that the smokeless category has been growing, with big year-on-year gains in new product sales, flavors and line…
New Flavors, Demand Drives OTP
Despite the SCHIP bill and mounting state taxes, smokeless tobacco products have experienced a strong year packed with innovation, new flavors and increased consumer demand. According to the NACS 2009 State of the Industry report, smokeless tobacco sales surged 6.1% to $2.96 billion last year. The average c-store totaled $1,703 per month in smokeless sales…
Sweet Opportunity
By Bob Gatty, Contributing Editor If manufacturers, distributors and convenience store retailers would embrace some basic changes and work more closely together, they could realize a potential bonanza of hundreds of millions of dollars in new profit, according to a new joint industry study. That is the message of the soon-to-be released “Convenience, Candy &…
Kum & Go Opens Missouri Stores
In celebration of the grand opening of its newest stores in southwest Missouri, Kum & Go, one of the nation’s leading convenience store chains, will give away a 2009 Harley Davidson Nightster motorcycle to one of its loyal customers. “The Harley Davidson giveaway is a perfect opportunity for us to get to know our newest…
Promotional Playtime
Give customers a chance to win the world’s largest toy-filled Halloween treat this fall. This complete month-long contest will help retailers gather an important mailing list and serve as a giant 6′ or 8′ tall display for the entire month of October—at a cost of about $3 per day. For under $100, retailers get the…
Keep Cash Flowing
Cash Solutions is offering a free equipment promotion to retailers opening a merchant account that could attract more customers by allowing them to accept Visa and MasterCards. The new VeriFone Omni 3740 is shipped to a retailer programmed and ready to use, with all the processing capabilities needed for a compact point-of-sale terminal with…