NACS Magazine April 2022

Advancing Convenience & Fuel Retailing

APRIL 2022 COLD VAULT

Making way for beverage innovation FOOD SAMPLING

Create excitement about your brand

Choosing Convenience How the pandemic changed fueling

convenience.org

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ONTENTS NACS / APRIL 2022 FEATURES

28 Choosing

Convenience How the pandemic changed fueling.

38 Battle for

the Cold Vault Retailers wrangle to balance core and new products.

44 Leaders Look to the Future

The NACS Leadership Forum explored labor issues, corporate culture, digital strategies and more.

On the cover: Prostock-Studio and Zffoto/Getty Images. This page: Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock

62 Quality and Value A Q&A with Cheyenne International.

64 Happy Workers,

Happy Customers Here’s why a positive employee culture can result in increased customer loyalty—however your store defines loyalty.

56

Elevate the In-Store Experience Sampling new foodservice and limited-time offers delivers excitement to your stores.

STAY CONNECTED WITH NACS @nacsonline facebook.com/nacsonline instragram.com/nacs_online

Subscribe to NACS Daily—an indispensable “quick read” of industry headlines and legislative and regulatory news, along with knowledge and resources from NACS, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Subscribe at www.convenience.org/NACSdaily.

linkedin.com/company/nacs NACS APRIL 2022 1

ONTENTS NACS / APRIL 2022 DEPARTMENTS 06 From the Editor 08 The Big Question 10 NACS News 18 Convenience Cares 20 Inside Washington

Policy proposals would help relieve the trucker shortage and allow retailers to hire more immigrants and older workers.

26 Ideas 2 Go

Shiv’s Convenience gives University of South Carolina students a place to call home.

70 Cool New Products 74 Gas Station Gourmet Pepperoni rolls may have put Mt. Top Convenience on the map, but their daily specials keep locals coming back.

76 Category Close-Up

Frozen treats sell well; alternative snacks provide a taste of the unusual.

88 By the Numbers

IT’S A FACT

$26,033 CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PAGE 76

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE 2 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

The presence of an article in our magazine should not be permitted to constitute an expression of the association’s view.

Kuzmik_A/Getty Images

Average sales per store of packaged ice cream/frozen novelties in 2020

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/ APRIL 2022 EDITORIAL

NACS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kim Stewart Editor-in-Chief (703) 518-4279 kstewart@convenience.org

CHAIR: Jared Scheeler, The Hub Convenience Stores Inc.

Lisa King Managing Editor (703) 518-4281 lking@convenience.org Lauren Brooks Digital Content Manager (703) 518-4283 lbrooks@convenience.org CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Terri Allan, Sara Counihan, Sarah Hamaker, Al Hebert, Pat Pape DESIGN Imagination www.imaginepub.com

ADVERTISING Stacey Dodge Advertising Director/ Southeast (703) 518-4211 sdodge@convenience.org Jennifer Nichols Leidich National Advertising Manager/Northeast (703) 518-4276 jleidich@convenience.org Ted Asprooth National Sales Manager/ Midwest, West (703) 518-4277 tasprooth@convenience.org

Mountain -Side Pool Party

PUBLISHING Erin Pressley Publisher and Vice President, Education & Media (703) 518-4208 epressley@convenience.org Rose Johnson Audience Development and Production Manager (703) 518-4218 rjohnson@convenience.org

OFFICERS: Lisa Dell’Alba, Square One Markets Inc.; Varish Goyal, Loop Neighborhood Markets; Brian Hannasch, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.; Chuck Maggelet, Maverik Inc.; Ken Parent, Pilot Flying J LLC; Victor Paterno, Philippine Seven Corp. dba 7-Eleven Convenience Store; Don Rhoads, The Convenience Group LLC PAST CHAIRMEN: Julie Jackowski, formerly Casey’s General Stores Inc.; Kevin Smartt, TXB MEMBERS: Chris Bambury, Bambury Inc.; Frederick Chaveyriat, MAPCO Express Inc.; Andrew Clyde, Murphy USA; Chris Coborn, Coborn’s Inc. Little Dukes; George Fournier, EG America LLC;

Terry Gallagher, Gasamat Oil/Smoker Friendly; Anne Gauthier, St. Romain Oil Company LLC; Douglas S. Haugh, Parkland Fuel Corp.; Raymond M. Huff, HJB Convenience Corp. dba Russell’s Convenience; Ina (Missy) Matthews, Childers Oil Co.; Charles McIlvaine, Coen Markets Inc.; Lonnie McQuirter, 36 Lyn Refuel Station; Jigar Patel, Hari 1 LLC, dba Fish River Food Mart; Glenn M. Plumby, 7-Eleven Inc.; Robert Razowsky, Rmarts LLC; Richard Wood III, Wawa Inc. SUPPLIER BOARD REPRESENTATIVES: Brent Cotten, The Hershey Company; Kevin Farley, GSP STAFF LIAISON: Henry Armour, NACS GENERAL COUNSEL: Doug Kantor, NACS

NACS SUPPLIER BOARD CHAIRMAN: Brent Cotten, The Hershey Company CHAIRMAN-ELECT: Kevin Farley, GSP VICE CHAIRMEN: David Charles, Cash Depot; George Ubing, E&J Gallo Winery PAST CHAIRMEN: Rick Brindle, Mondele-z International; Drew Mize, PDI MEMBERS: Tony Battaglia, Juul Labs; Alicia Cleary, AnheuserBusch InBev; Matt Domingo, Reynolds; Mike Gilroy, Mars Wrigley; Josh Halpern, FIFCO USA; Danielle Holloway, Altria Group Distribution Company; Jim Hughes, Molson Coors

Beverage Company; David Jeffco, Krispy Krunchy Foods LLC; Kevin M. LeMoyne, Coca-Cola Company; TJ Lynch, Hospeco Brands Group; Bryan Morrow, PepsiCo Inc.; Lesley D. Saitta, Impact 21; John Thomas, iSEE Store Innovations LLC; Sarah Vilim, Keurig Dr Pepper; Dean Zurliene, Monster Energy Company RETAIL BOARD REPRESENTATIVES: Steve Loehr, Kwik Trip Inc.; Chuck Maggelet, Maverik Inc. STAFF LIAISON: Bob Hughes, NACS SUPPLIER BOARD NOMINATING CHAIRMAN: Brad McGuinness, PDI

NACS Magazine (ISSN 1939-4780) is published monthly by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

Outdoor Movie Night Learn More about the networking events and educational sessions: conexxus.org/ac2022

Subscriptions are included in the dues paid by NACS member companies.

Subscriptions are also available to qualified recipients. The publisher reserves the right to limit the number of free subscriptions and to set related qualifications criteria.

Subscription requests: nacsmagazine@convenience.org POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NACS Magazine, 1600 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-2792 USA. Contents © 2022 by the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria VA and additional mailing offices.

1600 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314-2792

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UP FRONT FROM THE EDITOR

Filled Up

J

ust as we were trying on the idea of a somewhat “normal” spring, war broke out in Eastern Europe.

I’m old enough to remember both the ’70s oil crisis and the ’80s collapse of the Soviet Union but young enough to have hoped that we’d never see the likes of such feverish spikes in crude oil prices or another Cold War again. But here we are.

On March 7, 12 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, I paid $4.49 a gallon for premium gasoline, and while at the pump, a clerk was changing the posted prices on the street sign. On February 7, the same 93 octane was $3.49 a gallon.

Now, I’m paying over $5 a gallon.

Needless to say, consumers are uneasy about gas prices and the U.S. economy. NACS surveyed drivers in February before the conflict in Ukraine, and consumer sentiment was already pessimistic. The 2022 NACS Consumer Fuels Survey indicates that 84% of consumers are more price sensitive when they buy gasoline, 77% are cutting back on dining out and 67% are limiting what they spend on snacks or drinks. Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives, digs into the findings to undercover some reasons for optimism in “How the Pandemic Reshaped Fueling.” A big one: Consumers will drive out of their way to patronize a store that they like, so gas price isn’t their only motivator to pick one gas station over another.

When it comes to attracting and retaining quality employees and loyal customers, positive environments have an edge. We explore this theme in two features this month. The first, “Happy Workers, Happy Customers,” shares how Sheetz, Love’s Travel Stops and 36 Lyn Refuel Station are intentional about building winning cultures.

6 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Then, don’t miss NACS President and CEO Henry Armour’s Q&A with Jimmy Haslam, chair of The Pilot Company and co-owner of the Cleveland Browns, that kicked off the NACS Leadership Forum in February. Haslam looked back at the history of Pilot Company, where it’s going in the future and key leadership lessons he’s learned over the years, like “getting the right people in the right place,” Haslam said.

Also, read how convenience retailers are making way for beverage innovation in “Battle for the Cold Vault” and how some c-stores are using active crewserved food sampling to get customers excited about their foodservice offers in “Elevate the In-Store Experience.”

If you are reading this column at the NACS State of the Industry Summit, April 12-14 in Chicago, find me and say hello. I’d love to meet you!

Cheers!

Kim Stewart, Editor-In-Chief

Consumers are uneasy about gas prices and the U.S. economy.

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UP FRONT THE BIG QUESTION

How do you get customers from the pump inside the store?

At double kwik, creating a customer experience that pushes fuel-buying customers from the pump to inside the store has always been a top priority. Our mission at double kwik is to delight customers by treating them like family in our food-centered destinations. Our best opportunity to entice our on-the-go customers to come inside is to have our highquality, fresh-made food items readily available, enabling them to get back on the road quickly.

Our marketing team educates our customers about our food offerings the moment they pull into our locations by using a variety of signage including pump toppers, bollards, window signage, reader board messaging and door signage.

Our customers expect our signature items such as breakfast biscuits, pizza rolls, hand-breaded chicken tenders and potato wedges to be available during most hours of the day. Our foodservice team also introduces quarterly limited time and seasonal offerings, allowing our loyal customers to enjoy a variety of options. Limited time offers give customers a new reason to come in each quarter.

We also rely heavily on our double kwik rewards program to help us drive our fuel-buying customers inside our stores. Double kwik reward members receive points at the pump 8 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

 Ina “Missy” Matthews, owner of Childers Oil Co. dba double kwik Whitesburg, Kentucky

for fuel transactions and for most purchases inside the store. Points can then be redeemed for free lunch combos, fuel discounts, $5 gift cards and more. We have also found that offering special pricing for reward members for popular items such as pizza rolls, milk and fountain drinks provides more reasons for customers to come inside. Clubs for frequently purchased items also have built loyalty among rewards customers,

knowing that if they purchase nine 20-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, they will get the 10th free.

Loyal customers come inside our stores to see our awesome associates.

Each store has regular customers who visit nearly every day—sometimes multiple times a day. Customers know they can count on a friendly greeting and smile when they walk through the door, and associates often know their customers’ frequent purchases.

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UP FRONT NACS NEWS

TruAge™ Adds Reynolds American as Sponsor TruAge™, the digital solution that enhances current age-verification systems and protects user privacy, now counts among its sponsors the three largest tobacco suppliers, two largest e-cigarette suppliers and two largest brewers in the U.S. Developed by NACS and Conexxus, its standards-setting partner, TruAge makes the traditional carding experience more reliable and accurate. The age-verification program is free to retailers, consumers and point-of-sale (POS) providers to ensure access and to help facilitate broad adoption of the program.

Reynolds American Inc. is the latest company to announce its support of TruAge. Reynolds American is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco PLC and the U.S. parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc.; American Snuff Company LLC; R. J. Reynolds Vapor Company and Modoral Brands Inc. “Reynolds is proud to support TruAge to deliver innovative age-verification technology to help keep tobacco products out of the hands of minors,” said Frank Silva, Reynolds American’s senior vice president of activation & trade marketing. “We never want our products in the hands of minors.”

TruAge is an innovative, universally accepted age-verification system that makes it more accurate to verify an adult customer’s age when purchasing age-restricted products and also makes identity theft difficult. One-time-use digital tokens are used to share only the most important elements to confirm the purchaser is of legal age, which also protects the user’s privacy.

TruAge’s growing list of sponsors represents some of the world’s most recognized brands. TruAge is now 10 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

TruAge’s one-time-use digital tokens are used to share only the most important elements to confirm the purchaser is of legal age, which also protects privacy.

supported by two of the largest tobacco groups in the United States, Reynolds American and Altria Group Distribution Company; the two largest U.S. brewers, Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors Beverage Company; and the country’s two leading e-cigarette manufacturers, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company (as a member of the Reynolds American group of companies) and Juul Labs.

TruAge also is supported by more than 130 retail companies that represent

22,000-plus convenience store locations in the United States, plus four industry point-of-sale (POS) providers.

“It is clear that these companies share our vision of developing a future-proof solution to keep age-restricted products out of the hands of minors. Ninety percent of U.S. consumers say they support a nationwide standard for age verification, and this growing list of brands committed to TruAge support what our customers tell us,” said NACS President and CEO Henry Armour. “We are excited to add Reynolds American as a founding sponsor and welcome others to join us and these companies in this national effort.”

TruAge is currently in pilot tests in three select markets and is expected to see wider rollout later in 2022. Visit www.convenience.org/truage for information on how to participate.

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UP FRONT NACS NEWS

Max Out Your NACS Membership

12 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Kim Broome

Broome Joins NACS Kim Broome has joined NACS as director of convention operations. In this role, Broome will oversee all meetings-related functions for the association, including the NACS Show. Prior to joining NACS, Broome served as senior director of event operations and community experience for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), including overseeing strategy development, logistics, creative and budget management for the NAB Show, one of the largest trade shows in the country. Prior to NAB, Broome was director of events for the Online Lenders Alliance and before that was senior manager of meetings for the USA Rice Federation.

Broome earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Central Arkansas.

guvendemir/Getty Images

NACS has upgraded its membership renewal process for 2022, and it’s easier than ever to stay involved with us. Last November, we rolled out a new association management database (AMS), and one of the first campaigns that changed with the new AMS was how we process membership renewals.

Rather than mailing paper forms, the retail membership team is relying on members to access their account at www.convenience.org/renew to process their company’s renewal for 2022. Many companies have already adapted to the new technology and renewed for 2022.

For those members who are unaware of the new process or need help setting up your account, we are here to help. Please contact our membership team at MAXYourNACS@convenience.org.

NACS has been working hard to strengthen the technology that supports the association. The new AMS allows NACS members and potential members to better manage their accounts, purchase products and register for events. Customers can customize the topics and information most relevant to their function and begin to maximize their own NACS experience.

The success of the new system hinges on the adaptability of its users, both internal (staff) and external (customers). This requires patience and education on the new processes designed to deliver a more robust customer experience, says Keith Harlow, director of retail membership for NACS. “We thank our NACS members for giving us the opportunity to serve your companies over the past year,” Harlow said. “NACS recognizes that our members have been navigating a pandemic, supply-chain issues and demanding economic pressures. We appreciate your support as members—you are the lifeblood of our organization.”

Harlow can be reached at kharlow@convenience.org.

New Members NACS welcomes the following companies that joined the association in January 2022. NACS membership is companywide, so we encourage employees of member companies to create a username by visiting www.convenience.org/ Create-Login. All members receive access to the NACS Online Membership directory, latest industry news, information and resources. For more information about NACS membership, call (703) 684-3600.

NEW RETAILER MEMBERS Fickler Oil Company Inc. Deer Lodge, MT www.fickleroilcompany.com L & A Ventures Kersey, CO

ClearDox LLC www.cleardox.com Eclipse Foods Oakland, CA www.eclipsefoods.com

Oam Shiv Shakti LLC Raeford, NC

Elo Touch Solutions Pittsburgh, PA www.elotouch.com

Parkland USA Daniel Island, SC www.parkland.ca/en

ENTOUCH Richardson, TX www.entouchcontrols.com

Raj Petroleum Westerlo, NY

GBI GeoInteligencia de Negocios Ltda Sabanilla, San José Costa Rica www.gbiexperts.com

The Bridge Store Franklinton, LA NEW SUPPLIER MEMBERS AlixPartners LLP New York, NY www.alixpartners.com Avanti Cigar Co Dunmore, PA www.avanticigar.com Built Brands LLC American Fork, UT www.built.com Celtic Bank Salt Lake City, UT www.celticbank.com Classic Delight LLC St. Marys, OH www.classicdelight.com

Golden Dough Foods Winter Park, FL www.goldendoughfoods.com HIGH HEMP Sanford, FL www.highhemp.co John Boy Brand Sebastian, FL www.johnboybrand.com Kitu Life New York, NY www.drinksupercoffee.com Mid America Distribution Company Dodge Center, MN www.midamerica.co

PapiPay Edmond, OK www.papipay.com ProAmpac Cincinnati, OH www.proampac.com SABAR Energy LLC Boca Raton, FL www.SabarEnergy.com Silver Shadow Ventures Sandy, UT www.silvershadowventures.llc Turbo Joes LLC dba Turbo Joes Fresh Foods Hankamer, TX www.turbojoesfreshfood.com Wellbev LLC www.drinkwellie.com ZLight Technology Harahan, LA www.zlighttech.com NEW TRADE PRESS MEMBERS Winsight LLC Chicago, IL www.winsightmedia.com WTWH Media Inc. Rocky River, OH www.cstoredecisions.com

NACS APRIL 2022 13

UP FRONT NACS NEWS

Member News RETAILERS Parkers recently hired three new team members to support the company’s growth and continued expansion across coastal Georgia and South Carolina.

Debra Boyette will serve as food and beverage manager, overseeing Parker’s Kitchen food and beverage Debra Boyette programs at retail stores in Georgia and South Carolina.

Lauren Hermansen serves as operational accounting manager. She will oversee store transactional Lauren data, treasury Hermansen analysis generated from store revenue, rebate billing and payment tracking as well as sales tax reporting.

Paul Hermansen serves as the director of technology at Parker’s, where he is responsible Paul Hermansen for technology planning, strategy and implementation. Hermansen brings more than 20 years of experience to his new position at Parker’s. An accomplished IT expert, Hermansen excels at developing and implementing information 14 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

technology programs and is also skilled in financial management, business strategy, budgeting and forecasting.

Pilot Company announced the addition of four vice presidents to its leadership team. The additional leadership positions will further position the company to strengthen its core business, build on its geographic expansion and drive innovation to enhance the overall guest and team member experience.

Allison Cornish has been promoted to VP, store modernization.

In her new role, Cornish will lead the design and Allison Cornish execution of store improvement initiatives alongside Pilot Company’s construction and development team.

Jamie Landis has been promoted to VP, team member experience, where she will be responsible for the design, Jamie Landis implementation and elevation of the experience for all team members. This will include a focus on attracting, hiring, retaining top talent and delivering on Pilot Company’s overall human resources strategy.

Tim Langenkamp has been promoted to VP, business development – sustainability. In this

new role, he will focus on energy transition strategies including developing EV charging infrastructure for pasTim senger vehicles Langenkamp and medium- and heavy-duty trucks and developing a strategy for supporting low and zero emission vehicles.

Jonathan Braatvedt joined Pilot Company as VP, food and beverage to focus on expanding Pilot Flying J’s Jonathan offerings into Braatvedt new business channels, improving operational efficiencies and enhancing guests’ food and beverage experiences.

Braatvedt oversees more than 790 owned and operated restaurants across 14 brands, and 670 proprietary fresh delis, from development to execution.

CITGO Petroleum Corporation announced Jerry Dunn as vice president of refining, where he will oversee Jerry Dunn operations at the company’s three refineries located in Lake Charles, La.; Lemont, Ill. and Corpus Christi, Texas. Dunn previously served as vice president and general manager of the Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex.

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UP FRONT NACS NEWS

Member News Suppliers

Mondele-z International announced that Gustavo Valle has been named executive vice president and Gustavo Valle president, North America. In his new role, Valle will be responsible for leading the company’s $8.3 billion business in the United States and Canada, which includes iconic brands such as Oreo and belVita biscuits; Triscuit and Ritz crackers; Trident gum and Sour Patch Kids candy.

Diebold Nixdorf announced

Calendar of Events APRIL NACS State of the Industry Summit April 12-14 | Rosemont (Chicago), IL NACS Convenience Leaders Exchange – Germany/Austria/ Switzerland April 17 | Hamburg, Germany MAY NACS Industry Update Luncheon May 05 | Des Moines, IA

16 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Octavio Marquez

Octavio Marquez as the company’s president and chief executive.

Marquez will also join Diebold Nixdorf’s board of directors.

Jay Fiske has been promoted to president of Powerhouse Dynamics. He now will lead all strategic Jay Fiske and day-to-day company operations. Powerhouse Dynamics provides Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to leading

NACS CEO Summit Europe May 10 | London, U.K. NACS Industry Update Luncheon May 12 | Madison, WI NACS Leadership for Success May 15-20 | Glen Allen (Richmond), VA NACS Convenience Summit Europe May 31 - June 02 | Berlin, Germany JUNE NACS Convenience Leaders Exchange – South Africa June 10 | Johannesburg, South Africa

restaurant, foodservice, and retail outlets, delivering real-time control, automation, and analytics to operators.

Kudos

MAPCO, a convenience store chain with more than 330 stores throughout the Southeastern region of the U.S., has been named a 2022 Top Workplace USA by employee survey and research organization Energage.

The annual list of recognized employers is developed based on the results of an Energage Workplace Survey distributed to employees and is based on 15 years of research, data from 70,000 organizations and 23 million employee surveys.

JULY NACS Financial Leadership Program at Wharton July 17-22 | The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA NACS Marketing Leadership Program at Kellogg July 24-29 | Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University | Evanston, IL NACS Executive Leadership Program at Cornell July 31-August 04 | Dyson School, Cornell University | Ithaca, NY

NACS Convenience Summit Asia July | Singapore OCTOBER NACS Show October 01-04 | Las Vegas Convention Center | Las Vegas, NV NOVEMBER NACS Innovation Leadership Program at MIT November 06-11 | MIT Sloan School of Management | Cambridge, MA NACS Women’s Leadership Program at Yale November 13-18 | Yale School of Management | New Haven, CT

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Supporting Ukraine

M

embers of the convenience and fuel retailing industry stepped up to help Ukraine as Russia’s military attacked the country in late February.

“We condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the huge human impact it is having for both Ukrainians and Russians,” Brian Hannasch, president and CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard, said in a news release.

The company suspended operations in Russia and implemented plans to take care of its employees in a “responsible and safe manner.”

In Russia, Couche-Tard has operated under its primary brand Circle K, including over 320 employees and 38 stores located in St. Petersburg, 18 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Murmansk and Pskov. “Couche-Tard has had stores in Russia for nearly three decades, and we are proud of our Russian team members and their dedicated service to local customers and communities,” said Hannasch.

Couche-Tard has donated more than $1.5 million to the Red Cross and created a global campaign to raise additional funds for the Ukrainian people.

Circle K’s Poland stores are offering fuel and other aid by working with the Polish Red Cross. “The fate of our friends from Ukraine is not indifferent to us, which is why starting immediate cooperation with the Polish Red Cross is a natural and obvious decision for us.

We are starting aid activities so that support for those in need reaches [them]

as soon as possible,” Circle K’s Polish operation said in an announcement.

SPAR International, which operates 65 SPAR supermarkets across Ukraine, set up a SPAR Ukraine support fund to help procure products locally from existing sources of supply. SPAR International is also working with colleagues in neighboring countries to establish a supply of essential goods for distribution to SPAR Ukraine’s distribution center, which is located 100 kilometers inland from the Polish border.

Meanwhile, bp CEO Bernard Looney announced that the company will donate $20 million to Ukrainian relief efforts. BP also said it exited investments in Russia’s energy industry, and Looney and former bp CEO Bob Dudley resigned their seats on Rosneft’s board.

Shell is working with aid partners and humanitarian agencies in the war-torn area to help in relief efforts.

Shell is exiting its joint ventures with Gazprom, which is majority-owned

by Russia, and its related entities—and ending its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project.

ExxonMobil also announced plans to exit Russia oil and gas operations and won’t invest in new developments in Russia.

Yum! Brands halted all the company’s restaurant development activities and investments in Russia and plans to redirect profits from existing restaurants in Russia to humanitarian efforts.

Yum! Brands has about 1,000 KFC restaurants and 50 Pizza Hut locations in Russia, and nearly all are operated by independent owners. The Yum! Brands Foundation is donating $1 million to the Red Cross to support those affected by the crisis, is activating the Yum! Disaster Relief Fund to support Ukrainian franchise employees and is matching donations from employees to UNICEF, Red Cross, World Food Programme and International Rescue Committee.

Stalvalkee Stalki/Getty Images

SOCIAL SHARES NACS encourages retailers to share their giving-back news on social media using #ConvenienceCares.

CONVENIENCE CARES

In The Community Every year, the convenience and fuel retailing industry dedicates billions of dollars to advancing the futures of individuals and families in our communities.

The NACS Foundation unifies and builds on NACS members’ charitable efforts to amplify their work in communities across America, and to share these powerful stories.

Learn more at www.conveniencecares.org.

1 EG America and its network of 1,700-plus convenience stores have hosted fundraising campaigns to benefit Disabled American Veterans (DAV) for several years. In 2021, the combined efforts raised more than $170,000 in July, and the November campaign raised more than $516,000.

2 The New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA) delivered 120 gas cards to House of Hope Community Development Corporation, which will go to homeless Rhode Islanders who are living in their vehicles. NECSEMA’s affiliate

members in Rhode Island answered the call to support the effort, including Shell Oil Company, ExxonMobil, Gulf Oil, Sunoco Inc., CITGO Petroleum and Valero Marketing.

“Upon being made aware of this dire reality, it quickly became apparent NECSEMA was in a unique position to help,” said Jonathan Shaer, NECSEMA executive director. “I’m so proud of the quick response of our members to answer this call for good, and I’m immensely grateful for House of Hope CDC’s ongoing work and their partnership.

Staying warm in winter is something many of us take for granted and this is one way to help those in need.”

3 In March, The Hershey Company highlighted the “SHE” at the center of its milk chocolate bar as part of Women’s History Month celebrations. The limited-edition “Celebrate SHE” bars were available nationwide for a limited time. Hershey’s also partnered with Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization with a mission focused on supporting, empowering and inspiring girls to realize their limitless potential.

As part of the partnership, Hershey’s donated $150,000 to the organization.

2

4

3 5 1

4 Love’s Travel Stops’ annual Share the Love event donated $100,000 to 10 nonprofits across the U.S. on behalf of its 35,000plus employees.

“We’re excited to be back in person this year, safely volunteering at some of our favorite organizations across Oklahoma City,” said Jenny Love Meyer, chief culture officer and executive vice president of Love’s. “It’s one of our favorite events each year, and getting to add the store team member component is a great way to make sure all our employees can participate and give back to the communities we live and work in.”

Since 2013, Love’s corporate employees have spent Valentine’s Day volunteering at Oklahoma City nonprofits for Share the Love. For this year’s event, Love’s teams voted on a nonprofit in their division to donate to, and the organization in each division that collected the most votes received $10,000.

5 Mars awarded six institutions its Forrest E. Mars Jr. Chocolate History Grant, which furthers the study of chocolate’s diverse history and its impact on past and present culture in the Americas. Since the program’s inception in 2013, Mars has awarded more than $400,000 in grant funds.

“This has resulted in continued chocolate history research, discovery and development of educational programs that have impacted thousands of people across North America, bringing better moments to people through the rich history of chocolate,” said Gail Broadright, senior director digital sales, marketing and user experience, Mars Wrigley. “This year’s grant winners will continue to contribute to the evolving global story of chocolate in people’s lives.”

NACS APRIL 2022 19

INSIDE WASHINGTON

Solving for Transportation and Labor Policy proposals would help relieve the trucker shortage and allow retailers to hire more immigrants and older workers.

BY PAIGE ANDERSON AND JON TAETS

W Key Figures

80,000 The federal gross vehicle weight limit for trucks on federal interstates

49

The number of states plus the District of Columbia that allow drivers under 21 to get their commercial drivers’ license and operate on intrastate highways

20 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

hether on the news, in board rooms or on Capitol Hill, the supply chain crisis continues to be top of mind with business leaders and policymakers. The same is true for convenience and fuel retailers.

Like most industries, the convenience retailing industry is suffering the negative impacts of international supply chain disruptions. Out-of-stock issues continue to plague the industry across various product types. From a wide range of products to packaging materials to fuel dispensing parts and components, convenience retailers are experiencing delays and inconsistent deliveries and shortages of supplies. All of this is causing dramatic increases in costs within all aspects of the supply chain.

In 2021, COVID-19, the winter freeze in Texas, wildfires in the West and hurricanes in the Gulf, along with the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, further highlighted the difficulties facing the convenience and fuel retailing industry. What’s more, the industry also had to contend with truck driver shortages, especially the demand for fuel

haulers. As the pandemic continued, labor shortages and other supply chain issues have continued to challenge our industry, including shortages of many center-store products and packaging, as well as fuel supplies in some regions of the country.

After a winter of severe snowstorms and tornados, COVID-19-related restrictions and mandates are easing, the labor market is readjusting, consumer demand is skyrocketing and inflation is rising—along with geopolitical tensions with Russia’s military assault on Ukraine. Prices for goods are increasing in large part because demand has surpassed available capacity of the supply chain. In looking at the supply chain crisis, two underlying questions come up over and over with businesses leaders

ONE VOICE

Kevin Martello, vice president, national retail sales convenience/industry affairs, Keurig Dr Pepper

grandriver/Getty Images

What does NACS political engagement mean to you, and what benefits have you experienced from being politically engaged?

Being an active and engaged member of the NACS Political Engagement Committee ensures that I am supporting the industry and its retailers in a meaningful and impactful way. This experience has helped me to understand the issues retailers face day-to-day and how we [suppliers] can better support them.

NACS, along with other industry groups, is advocating for hours-of-service relief during the supply chain crisis since regulatory flexibility is an important tool in helping with this issue.

and policymakers: How do we increase our transportation capacity, and how do we increase the labor pool?

While businesses continue to find creative solutions to attract more workers and truck drivers, politicians and policymakers in Washington, D.C., are also looking at ways to improve the transportation system and labor supply.

TRANSPORTATION POLICIES Hours-of-Service Flexibility In times of emergency, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has the authority to grant hours-of-service waivers to provide flexibility to truckers. During the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters in 2021 and so far in 2022, FMCSA granted numerous waivers for haulers

What federal legislative or regulatory issues keep you up at night (with respect to the convenience store industry)?

I have a lot of passion around swipe-fee reform. We all know the impact this line item has on a retailer’s overall business—for many convenience retailers, the swipe fees they pay exceed their pretax profits!

And these fees even represent their second-highest operating cost. It is very important to partner with NACS in support of change on this critical issue.

What c-store product could you not live without?

Ice cold Dr Pepper of course!

NACS APRIL 2022 21

INSIDE WASHINGTON

transporting food, fuel and needed supplies. NACS, along with other industry groups, is advocating for hours-ofservice relief during the supply chain crisis since regulatory flexibility is an important tool in helping with this issue. For example, the time that truck drivers spend waiting in long lines to get into ports and terminals is counted toward their hours-of-service limits.

Having the flexibility to waive those limits allows for more trucking capacity to move goods from ports to storage warehouses to stores.

as California and Ohio issued similar waivers on their state highways. In California, the governor issued temporary permits to increase weight limits for transportation intermodal shipping containers. In Ohio, the governor issued an executive order to increase the state weight limit to 90,000 pounds. NACS supports a federal GVW increase to help with interstate commerce and has been working with other industry groups and coalitions for this additional tool to help expand and enhance trucking and shipping capacity.

Truck Weight Limits Another tool to help alleviate the supply chain crisis for over-the-road shippers is to increase the federal gross vehicle weight (GVW) limits on interstates.

The current federal limit is 80,000 pounds. During the COVID-19 crisis, the CARES Act included language to allow states to issue permits for trucks to operate above federal weight limits on interstates, which provided much-needed supplies to communities.

Though only available for 120 days, companies that took advantage of this provision were able to increase their efficiencies with no apparent increased safety risk. More recently, states such

Young Truckers Pilot Program The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created a young truck driver apprenticeship pilot program. FMCSA will administer the program, which creates a two-stage, safety focused apprenticeship to allow 18-20-year-old qualified drivers who satisfy safety, training and technology requirements to operate in interstate commerce.

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia allow drivers younger than 21 to get their commercial drivers’ license and operate on intrastate highways.

Laws that prevent these younger drivers from operating large trucks on interstates are an ongoing issue for

22 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

LABOR SUPPLY Immigration – Employment Visa Modernization Traditionally, the convenience industry doesn’t fit well into any of the existing employment-based visa programs.

Most of the jobs our industry needs to fill don’t fit into the H-1B category for skilled workers, and it is often very difficult for convenience retailers to prove the requirements of the H-2B category for seasonal non-agriculture workers.

To that end, NACS is working with Congress on proposals to establish a new visa category for the convenience and fuel retailing industry, along with other industries traditionally left out of the current system. The new category would be temporary and available during times of relatively low unemployment where labor shortages still exist, such as we’re experiencing now.

In addition to legislative work, NACS has been in touch with Department of Homeland Security officials to offer suggestions gleaned from a targeted survey of NACS member companies on how to improve the current system and lower the barriers to entry that convenience retailers face in the visa programs.

Older Workers Many retirees are interested in returning to the workforce in order to

kali9/Getty Images

the convenience industry, especially for those retailers that have trucking operations and stores in more than one state. This pilot program will provide some relief for the truck driver shortage.

NACS supports allowing properly trained and certified truck drivers between the ages of 18 and 20 to operate in interstate commerce. NACS has been working with other stakeholders and coalitions to pass legislation to allow this and is working with the Biden Administration to ensure that the pilot program is implemented properly.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

supplement their fixed incomes; however, the U.S. Social Security system includes some barriers to this. Notably, the Retirement Earnings Test (RET), repealed in 2000 for seniors who have passed their normal retirement age, remains in place for seniors who have not reached that age. This reduces their benefits by $1 for every $2 over an annually adjusted maximum of outside income. This reduction has become a significant hinderance to seniors returning to work. What’s more, while benefits are not reduced once a person reaches full retirement age, regardless of how much income they earn, their benefits do become taxable if their total outside income plus half of their benefits exceeds a certain amount.

Much like with the visa categories discussed above, NACS is exploring options to reduce these barriers to seniors returning to the workforce. Many NACS members report that older adults make a great addition to their frontline teams, and retailers hope they can continue to offer employment opportunities to this group.

The supply chain crisis is complex, and it won’t be solved quickly or with a single policy. However, NACS is working closely with our members, other industry leaders and policymakers to work on removing government hurdles and finding solutions to the various parts of the supply chain crisis.

Paige Anderson is NACS director of government relations.

She can be reached at panderson@ convenience.org.

Jon Taets is NACS director of government relations. He can be reached at jtaets@ convenience.org.

24 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

NACSPAC DONORS NACSPAC was created in 1979 by NACS as the entity through which the association can legally contribute funds to political candidates supportive of our industry’s issues. For more information about NACSPAC and how political action committees (PACs) work, go to www.convenience.org/nacspac.

NACSPAC donors who made contributions February 1-28, 2022, are: Michael Ames Altria Group Distribution Company Ted Asprooth NACS Jeff Bush Parkland USA Lucia Crater Impact 21 Michael Custer Whirley Industries Inc. Karim W. Dhukani Easy Lane Stores Peter Garrett Volta Oil Company Inc. David Hall Alimentation Couche-Tard Joe Hamza Nouria Energy Group Jessica Hendrickson Altria Group Distribution Company

Aaron Littlefield Littlefield Oil Company Jonathan Louie Loop Neighborhood Markets James McNutt Midwest Petroleum Company Bryan Morrow PepsiCo Inc. Craig Neuhoff GSP Richard Oneslager Balmar Management Group Nicholas Paich GSTV Nicolas Papadopoulos Verifone Inc. Merlix Reynolds RaceTrac Inc. George Ubing E&J Gallo Winery Elizabeth Waring Johnson & Johnson Inc.

Danielle Holloway Altria Group Distribution Company

William Weigel Weigel’s Stores Inc.

Simmi Kelly Altria Group Distribution Company

Alicia West Altria Group Distribution Company

PERFECTLY FORMULATED TO WORK FASTER

IDEAS 2 GO

Name of company: Shiv’s Convenience Store Date founded: 2013 # of stores: 2 Website: www.instagram.com/ shivsconveniencestore

The Heart of Community Shiv’s Convenience gives UofSC students a place to call home.

BY SARAH HAMAKER

Ketan “Shiv” and Kalpana Patel, husband and wife owners of Shiv’s Convenience Store, view their customers like family. “My mom and dad want the store, which is located on the University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus, to feel like home,” said daughter Banci Patel, who manages the store’s Instagram page. “The students treat my father like he’s their best friend, coming by to tell him about their job interviews or tests. Both my parents have formed a family through the store within the student community at USC.” 26 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Smith Austin/smithaustin.photo@gmail.com/Instagram: @smith.d.a

The warmth that Ketan “Shiv” Patel extends to University of South Carolina students is why Shiv’s Convenience is such a popular place.

BUILDING A FAMILY Nine years ago, the Patels purchased the store property in the middle of the campus. “It had previously been a convenience store but had been closed for several years before my parents bought it,” Banci said. It took them six months to renovate the store before it reopened as Shiv’s Convenience.

Starting from scratch with the inventory, the Patels focused on products oriented to students. “We began with the essentials, such as snacks and drinks, as well as USC-branded merchandise,” Banci said. “We noticed that students looked for or asked for particular things like granola bars and Gatorade.” Through trial and error, the elder Patels “discovered what works best and what didn’t” for the merchandise mix.

While the store hasn’t branched out into fresh foodservice yet, it stocks the staples, such as milk, eggs and butter, in addition to grab-and-go options and beer. “We also sell a lot of Gamecock [the university mascot] t-shirts and hats,” Banci said.

The store supports university clubs with sponsorships and posts flyers for on-campus events, such as student theater productions. “We are more than happy to help the students and clubs as much as we’re able,” she said.

Late last year, a second Shiv’s Convenience Store opened across from a student apartment complex. Run by Shiv’s brother, Bakul Patel, the store has a similar product assortment as the original Shiv’s. “We’re excited to get started and eager to see students,” said Bakul’s daughter Kesha Patel in a news article about the opening. “We hope to become a permanent fixture in the Columbia community.”

A FRIENDLY FACE What makes Shiv’s Convenience unique is Shiv himself. “My father is

just a very caring person,” Banci said.

“He cares for the students a lot and is genuinely happy when they come in. He’s always asking them how they are, and if they’re sad, he asks them what’s wrong—and they tell him. He has a big heart.”

In 2021, Banci started an Instagram page for her father. “He’s garnered quite an Instagram following through my posting pictures of him—with his approval, of course,” she said. “Students seem to like seeing him in the store and when he travels.”

While Banci also advertises store sales, the Instagram page is mostly photos of her father explaining Indian culture. “For example, when we went to India for my sister’s wedding recently, my dad wanted me to post pictures of him there so he could teach the students where he’s from and his culture.”

These posts have “really resonated with the students,” Banci said. “They like seeing another side of my dad.

It’s become a more personal way for him to connect with students, and we get a lot of good interaction from the posts.”

Banci said her father’s desire is that everyone who comes into the store leaves with “a good feeling that whenever they need anything, they know the store’s going to be there for them.”

A testament to Shiv Patel’s impact on customers is when former students drop by to visit when they’re in town.

“Those who have graduated will often return to say hello, which makes him very happy,” Banci said.

Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer and NACS Magazine contributor based in Fairfax, Virginia.

Visit her online at sarahhamakerfiction.com.

Instagram is a key way for Shiv’s Convenience to connect with the university students who shop the family-run c-store.

BRIGHT IDEAS At Shiv’s Convenience, owner Ketan “Shiv” Patel likes to educate students about his home country of India and Hinduism. “My father named the store after his favorite Hindu god, and everyone started calling him Shiv,” said daughter Banci Patel. “He enjoys talking to them about Indian culture and important Hindu holidays.”

Shiv uses Instagram to post pictures and explanations related to the religious holidays or Indian culture. “As an immigrant, he works hard to make the store a success, but he also loves the community and educating the students,” Banci Patel said. For example, earlier this year, Shiv Patel posted on Instagram explanations about the Hindu new year, Diwali.

“The students seem to enjoy learning more about our culture, and my father enjoys sharing with them— it’s created a welcoming atmosphere in our store.”

Ideas 2 Go showcases how retailers today are operating the convenience store of tomorrow.

To see videos of the c-stores we profiled in 2021 and earlier, go to www.convenience.org/Ideas2Go. NACS APRIL 2022 27

How the Pandemic

Reshaped Fueling And here’s what you can do about it.

BY JEFF LENARD

28 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

The 2022 NACS Consumer Fuels Survey was conducted by national public opinion research firm Core Decision Analytics (CODA). A total of 1,090 U.S. consumers who say they drive and fill up at least monthly were surveyed from February 17-21, 2022. The margin for error for the study is +/- 2.96 at the 95% confidence level. NACS has conducted national consumer sentiment surveys since 2007.

Anusorn Nakdee/Shutterstock

D

rivers are expected to travel 33 miles a day in 2022— the same amount as in 2019 before the pandemic, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. So does that mean we’re back to normal, and life returns to what it was?

Not even close.

We’ve seen enormous shifts in drivers’ attitudes and behaviors, which will impact the convenience and fuels industry—an industry that sells 80% of the fuels purchased in the United States.

So, how have fueling behavior and consumer perceptions changed during the past two years? How can retailers find opportunities to serve the new fuels consumer? Let’s look at results from the newly released 2022 NACS Consumer Fuels Survey.

CONSUMERS ARE MORE PESSIMISTIC Convenience stores sell immediate consumption. When consumers are happy, they spend more, especially on impulse items. However, their mood has soured thanks to the third year of a global pandemic, a labor shortage, supply chain disruptions, rising prices and an increasingly divided electorate.

Of these factors, the one that most affects a consumer’s mood is rising prices. Nearly 2 in 3 drivers (61%) say gasoline prices have “greatly increased” during the past few months, and they’re correct.

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine in late February (after this survey was fielded), gasoline prices were surging. In May 2021, prices topped $3 a gallon for the first time in seven years and continued to climb. At the start of February—considered the start of the spring transition to summer-blend fuel— prices averaged $3.44 a gallon, a full dollar higher than last year and the second-highest price to start February this century (gas was $3.54 in 2013). By March 10, $4.318 was the average price per gallon. What’s more, prices in California have topped $5.60 a gallon and are setting new records each day.

On average, drivers pump 497 gallons a year into their vehicles, and that extra dollar a gallon adds up to nearly a $500 annual hit to the average consumer’s wallet. Without question, rising gas prices are having a profound impact on consumer views of the economy.

63% of drivers say the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction.

6%

Only of the country describes current economic conditions as “excellent.” Meanwhile, 36% say they are “poor.”

This intense economic pessimism is leading consumers to rethink their buying behaviors, and that includes spending on traditional c-store industry offers.

NACS APRIL 2022 29

Among consumers surveyed...

84% are more

price sensitive when buying gasoline

77% are cutting

back on dining out (ex., quick-service and sit-down meals)

67% are cutting

back on buying snacks or drinks The bottom line: It’s harder to market to consumers who are in a bad mood—especially when they have less disposable income.

However, there are still ways retailers can win their business.

GAS PRICE ISN’T EVERYTHING Prices at the pump can determine where consumers choose to buy gas and in-store merchandise. More than 2 in 3 drivers (69%) say that gas price is the most important reason they select a location. It’s three times as important as location (22%) and nearly seven times as important as brand (10%).

NACS asked consumers why they pick a particular store and how their preferences change when they’re in their neighborhood versus when they’re traveling on the highway.

In short, when they’re in their neighborhood, the priority is a good price and customer service. On the highway, their focus is one-stop shopping and speed of service.

Most drivers (56%) say they have a favorite store or chain. And while gas prices and location are the two most important attributes, there are more reasons why consumers select that store. Here’s where retailers can begin to differentiate their offer.

Why do you prefer a certain gas station? (multiple responses permitted)

51%

Location

What is most important to you when buying gas?

Price

57%

Ease of entrance/ exit

Bathroom

20%

13% 0%

6%

Neighborhood

30 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

34%

Loyalty program

Customer service

45%

5%

45%

Quality of fuel

54%

It usually has lower prices

4% 2% Highway

Quality of prepared food/ drinks

20%

Quality of other items inside the store

18%

Quality of store employees

THE NATURAL CHOICE

N AT U R A L R O L L E D L E A F C I G A R S

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Not only do drivers have preferences for a specific store based on its offer, they will also inconvenience themselves to travel there.

Most consumers will drive out of their way to save five cents a gallon, a sentiment we have tracked since 2007. An even higher percentage will drive out of their way because they like you, and your gas price is just one piece of the puzzle to building customer loyalty.

I would drive 5 minutes out of my way…

74%

64%

I would take a left-hand turn across a busy street…

63% 60%

21%

37%

Morning (6-10 a.m.)

Midday (10 a.m. 3 p.m.)

I would drive 10 minutes out of my way…

33%

57%

Afternoon (3-7 p.m.)

9%

Night (7 p.m.-6 a.m.)

49%

To go to the store I like To save five cents a gallon

HOW CONSUMERS SHOP Before we look at what consumers want inside the store, let’s describe who they are. Only 42% of American monthly gas consumers say they are currently employed full time, only slightly more than the 41% who are not working or retired (14% are working part time). Among the employed, 3 in 5 (61%) are commuting every day, compared to 20% who are exclusively working from home. This 3:1 ratio of daily commuters versus work-from-home workers is an extraordinary sign of how the pandemic has changed the lifestyle of the American workforce. However, just because someone is working from home doesn’t mean driving less.

EIA expects U.S. gasoline demand to increase to 8.95 million barrels (376 million gallons) per day in 2022, only slightly less than the 9.2 million barrels per day demand before the pandemic. People working from home may not be part of the morning commute, but they are driving. In fact, the time of day that someone fills up hasn’t changed compared to when NACS asked these same questions pre-pandemic.

32 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

When do you fill up?

People are filling up at traditional times, although how they are filling up is different. For starters, many are not in as much of a rush.

They may be going to the store to get out of the house and break up the day, and survey results support this. A record 58% of drivers say they went inside the store the last time they purchased fuel. And in turn, the survey shows a dramatic increase in “frequent” customers: those who make purchases from convenience stores multiple times per week.

How often do you make purchases from convenience stores?

17%

Once or twice a week

15%

Once or twice a month

12% Daily

17%

Less than once or twice a month

29%

Multiple times a week

10%

Never

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Custom spring salesincrease with this visibility, storewide labeling system. trays, and display, scan and pusher hooks. tensions and lane depths are sales with this capable, storewide labeling system.

Cooler color, and available built-in promo Call | and TrionOnline.com to fit800-444-4665 any andcolor, all shelf and product Cooler capable, promo Clip label holders andbuilt-in strips available.

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Available with label holders or full length label strips and and One-piece installation means the bar. display space and create unique holders or full length label strips and constructed of long-life these you can drop this badmaterials, boy right into presentations similar or related items. constructed ofof long-life materials, these durable, attractive hooksand can outfit place, adjust as scan needed, watch This cross-selling approach makes durable, attractive scan hooks can outfit all display surfaces, including pegboard, the revenue increase.

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shelf edge, wire basket, and refrigerated Create Your Own deck edge, to thewire top basket, shelf and beyond.

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The sturdy is durable, Clip label holders and plastic strips| available.

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Containers Well Contained Over 450 Profiles ®

Cooler Capable AMT ClearandScan Label Holders Neatly effectively display cooler ®

and freezersolutions items, including Storewide for any yogurt, labeling dips, cream, single-serve need.puddings, Available ice in a variety of profiles foods, andthese more.

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Save Label time, Holder, increaseand visibility, and boost Call 800-444-4665 | TrionOnline.com sales with this storewide labeling system.

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Clip label holders and strips available.

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Available with short label via asymmetric lane configurations. Cross for every need. holders or full length label strips and merchandise a variety of products with constructed of long-life materials, these ease. Trays install without tools and lift out durable, attractive scan hooks can outfit for quick restocking or product rotation. all display surfaces, including pegboard, Full line includes standard and oversize slatwall, grid, crossbar, and corrugated. trays, and display, scan and pusher hooks.

Fully compatible with the Clear Scan® Call 800-444-4665 | TrionOnline.com Label Holder System for C-channel, shelf edge, wire basket, and refrigerated

areas storewide.

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Slide product to “ZIP” over there,front-to-back automatically feeding Call from 800-444-4665 | TrionOnline.com each track together.

Custom spring product to the front and billboarding tensions andfor lane depths visibility. are available merchandise maximum

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HOOKS | lAbElING | SHElF & COOlER MERCHANDISING HOOKS | lAbElING | SHElF & COOlER 800-444-4665 | info@triononline.com HOOKS | lAbElING | SHElF & COOlER MERCHANDISING HOOKS.triononline.com/Art | lAbElING | SHElF & COOlER 800-444-4665 MERCHANDISING | info@triononline.com MERCHANDISING 800-444-4665 | info@triononline.com .triononline.com/Art ©2019 Trion Industries, Inc. 800-444-4665 | info@triononline.com .triononline.com/Art .triononline.com/Art

Retail

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Fast and Easy

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Extend Your Revenue Super Hooks!

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Pegboard Extenders WonderBar Hooks Pegboard Extenders

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Retail

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Verdict: guilty!

Call 800-444-4665 | TrionOnline.com

canLock Hook Locks

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ZIP Track is the most versatile ideal temperature.

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Over 450 Profiles C o n t a i n e r s ®W e l l C o n t a i n e d

Clear Scan Label Holders Cooler Capable AMT ®

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CleverWhen merchandisers use large literature holders forconstructed three-dimensional, of long-life materials, these in, thereaid are Trion WonderBar to label and priceHooks items awkwardly sized items like mirrors, literature holders for three-dimensional, durable, attractive scan hooks can outfit for every need. quickly and conveniently, turn to framed art, clocks, and more.

Available awkwardly sized items like mirrors, all display surfaces, including pegboard, in a range of sizes, gauges, and weights, this Swiss Army knife of outfitting. framed art, clocks, and more.

Available slatwall, crossbar, and corrugated.

Trion’s large literature holdersgrid, can TM be Scan-It is available in a range of in a range of sizes, gauges, and weights, spaced horizontally to accommodate all Fully compatible with the Clear Scan® back plate sizes and label can holder Trion’s large literature holders be manner of product sizes.

Label Holder System for C-channel, configurations. horizontally to accommodate all Call 800-444-4665 shelf |spaced TrionOnline.com edge, wire basket, and refrigerated manner of product sizes. areas storewide.

Literature Holder Literature Holder

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weights. Give them a try.

Clip label strips available. shape!

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©2019 Trion Industries, Inc. Trion Industries, ©2019 Trion Industries, Inc. ©2022 ©2019 Trion Industries, Inc.

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Scan-It Scan Arms

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Easy to install, where customers canincluding fully view the WonderBar Bar Merchandisers and sell almost anything, games, ® Creatively where customers can deploy fully view the TM entire item. these to ZIP Track components clippuzzles, on a Tray front entire item.

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ZIP Track Merchandiser

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ICC’s and Shams Super Hooks!

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Label Holders when you see how easily coming to carded the rescue when you need to see when you add inventory control Keep products tidy and easy heavy or extra heavy wire hook displays. to seethose when you add inventory control they accommodate drop-in plain paper muscle and good looks to merchandise clips (ICCs) to your standard, medium, These handy clips keep merchandise to see when you add inventory control clips (ICCs) to your standard, medium, labels.

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Callholder 800-444-4665 TrionOnline.com label systems.| |TrionOnline.com Call 800-444-4665 800-444-4665 Call Call 800-444-4665 | TrionOnline.com

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HOOKS | lAbElING | SHElF & COOlER MERCHANDISING 800-444-4665 | info@triononline.com .triononline.com/Art

THE ART OF MERCHANDISING

®

Merchandising is more than fitout and fixtures. It’s the art of creating an attractive, well-organized retail presentation. As with any artistic composition, a wide variety of tools

may

be

used

to

create

your

masterpiece. In retail Visual Merchandising, a gondola, pegboard, slatwall or shelf is your blank canvas. When combined with tools such as display hooks, label and sign holders, bar merchandisers, tray systems, and merchandising accessories, there are endless ways to effectively display all kinds of products and inspire your target audience to make a purchase. As one of the world’s top retail fixture manufacturers, Trion offers a generous palette of over 25,000 components with 55 years of experience using them to execute precise planogram solutions, store designs and retail displays. Call us to turn your vision into an inspired retail masterpiece.

New Zip Track ® Merchandising SYSTEM Display & Scan Hooks Label Holder Systems Security & Anti-Theft Fixtures Divider & Pusher Systems Bar Merchandising Systems Cooler Merchandising Systems

TrionOnline.com | 800.444.4665 ©2022 Trion Industries, Inc.

How often do you choose 6% healthier Always items in c-stores?

29%

Once in a while Today, 41% of consumers are “frequent” customers (shopping at least multiple times per week), a 14-point jump compared to the NACS pre-pandemic January 2020 study.

A spillover of “frequent” customer growth could be a lasting aftereffect of convenience stores serving as essential businesses during the pandemic, plus the closures of stores in other retail channels. As more drivers went inside stores to quickly and safely get necessities like pantry items, they liked what they saw and chose to come back.

What did you do when you went inside the store? (multiple responses permitted; top 10 answers listed)

27%

Seldom

19% Very often

19%

Never

Finally, it’s possible that more customers say they are coming inside the store because they like the core offer. It’s no surprise they treasure speed of service and customer service, but they also want to know that you care about them—likely why they are willing to drive five or 10 minutes out of their way or take a left-hand turn to frequent your store.

They do this because they like you and appreciate your support of their community.

Which store attributes are very important to you? (multiple responses permitted)

Percentage who…

2020

2022

Difference

Paid for gas at the register

42%

45%

(+3)

Bought a drink

39%

44%

(+5)

Bought a snack

30%

35%

(+5)

Bought cigarettes/vaping product

19%

28%

(+9)

Used the bathroom

19%

24%

(+5)

Bought lottery tickets

20%

21%

(+1)

Used the ATM

12%

17%

(+5)

Bought a sandwich/meal

13%

12%

(-1)

Bought gum/mints

13%

10%

(-3)

Bought beer/wine

11%

14%

(+3)

Seven of the top 10 categories saw growth compared to 2020 pre-pandemic. In some cases, this reflects how consumers are now shopping c-stores instead of other channels.

In other cases, it’s the growth of a specific category, whether temporary or long term.

Also, the industry’s strategic shift toward healthier options may have contributed to more in-store sales. One in four consumers (25%) say they choose healthy products “very often” or “always” when buying food at convenience stores.

54% Gets me in and out quickly

48% Friendly employees

who make me feel welcome

29% Cares about the community

23% Makes efforts on

sustainability/environmental topics

18% Has been around a long time

15% Donates to charitable causes

As the chart above shows, context matters.

Customers want to see and hear how you care about the community. There’s a 2:1 difference between telling that story versus donating to a worthy cause.

NACS APRIL 2022 33

For those with stores near or on the way to vacation destinations, the upcoming summer-drive season will present a perfect chance to connect with the 61% of drivers who are likely to hit the road this summer.

Tell a story that appeals to their emotions, not simply their intellect.

Why might you take a road trip this summer?

68% It is fun 44% It is an easy

way to see multiple destinations

38% It is less

expensive than other forms of travel

How you define your offer communicates that you understand what today’s customers want. With negativity and pessimism abounding at home and abroad, your store can be a spot of joy as consumers happily hit the open road once again.

WHAT CONSUMERS WANT From a transportation perspective, electric vehicles are the future—but how far off is that future? Last year, EV sales topped 430,000 units, an 83% increase over the prior year but only a fraction of the 14.9 million new vehicles sold in 2021.

Meanwhile, consumers seem to believe that EV sales are much greater.

So, why are consumers wrong about the realities of the EV market? For one, EVs are a hot topic and garner headlines. Also, auto manufacturers are offering more EVs, and some very slick Super Bowl commercials touted the benefits of EVs. To the average consumer, the future may look like it’s getting closer each day, if not here already.

Consumers generally like the concept of EVs: 49% say their attitude toward EVs has become more positive in recent years. And by a nearly 3:1 margin, American drivers today have a positive attitude toward EVs (54% positive vs. 19% negative).

However, there are still many perceived barriers clouding consumer perception regarding EVs. In the survey, 3 in 5 drivers (62%) think charging an EV outside of their home would be difficult. Meanwhile, 2 in 5 consumers (42%) also think EVs need to be charged more often than conventional cars, and 1 in 3 (34%) drivers think EVs need to be charged daily.

Thinking about the future, consumers see traditional fueling locations as the most logical places to charge EVs (aside from at work or home).

Which locations should be a high priority to install 500,000 EV chargers throughout the country?

64% Interstate rest areas

What percentage of American drivers own EVs?

58% Gas stations/ Consumers say

15%

Consumers say

20%

3% Reality 34 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

45% Parking lots/ garages

>1% Reality

What percentage of new vehicles sold were EVs?

convenience stores

40% Hotels 33% Grocery store or big-box retailers

32% Shopping malls 20% Sit-down restaurants

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While the Biden Administration’s proposal to install EV chargers will take time, drivers would like to see the growth of charging locations accelerate: 61% say c-stores should “proactively install EV chargers to prepare for more EV drivers in the future.”

Innovation and opportunity aren’t merely on the road or at the pump. What about the experience inside your store? What emerging technologies do consumers want to see to improve convenience?

Which would you be “very interested” in using at your favorite convenience store?

40% Self-checkout 29% Pay using app/ smartphone

25% “Just walkout”

technology/no checkout

24% Online order,

Want More Info?

NACS has fuels-related resources that communicate the industry’s voice to consumers and to the media: Convenience Corner (convenience.org/media/conveniencecorner) Our blog attracts thousands of viewers on fuels topics: • Does the President Control Gas Prices?

• Who Makes Money Selling Gas? • Will We See $4 Gas? • Why Are Gas Prices Rising When They Should Be Falling?

• Will Gas Prices Affect Summer Travel?

• When Were Gas Prices Low? Got a question that you want us to answer? Send a note to Jeff Lenard at jlenard@convenience.org.

Fuels Resource Center (www.convenience.org/fuels) The online Fuels Resource Center shares consumer-friendly content related to gas prices, retail operations and consumer behavior, as well as fun pieces on 9/10 cent pricing and the evolution of self-serve fueling.

Fuels Market News (www.fuelsmarketnews.com) Published by NACS, FMN is the downstream petroleum industry’s trusted source for fuels-related news and information, covering the fuels of today and tomorrow.

pickup at store

24% Delivery 21% Curbside pickup The best news for c-store operators? The top four conveniences that consumers want most could lead to cost savings on a per transaction level. Meanwhile, the less appealing ideas—curbside pickup and delivery—are larger efforts and cost-intensive.

So, what’s the big takeaway for 2022?

Consumers are not in a good mood, which is never good for business.

On the other hand, they still plan to travel and spend money, whether part of their daily routine or vacations.

36 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Consumer behavior has changed because of the pandemic, and it will be difficult to determine which changes are temporary and which are more enduring. However, the key to successful retailing in 2022 remains the same: Find out what your customers want and offer it. Communicate that you understand what they want and tell your story. They will likely reward you.

Jeff Lenard is NACS vice president, strategic industry initiatives. You can reach him at jlenard@convenience.org.

BEST

SELLER

GoPremier.com

38 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

monticello/Shutterstock; Thithawat_s/Getty Images; mustafaU/Getty Images

BATTLE FOR THE

bizoo_n]/Getty Images; mrPliskin/Getty Images

Retailers wrangle to balance core and new products.

BY TERRI ALLAN

Come Memorial Day, Beacon & Bridge, a 25-unit convenience store chain in Michigan, will be sporting a newly reset cold vault, likely featuring more energy drink SKUs but fewer dairy, juice and sports drink items. “With so many new products these days, it’s becoming harder and harder to accommodate them,” said Eric Patterson, merchandising manager. As a result, regular cold box resets are imperative. “The vault is a huge part of our business—accounting for 40% of sales and 40% of gross profit,” the retailer reported. “I take more care in building a planogram for the vault than I do for other categories. It drives traffic.”

NACS APRIL 2022 39

40 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Bottled water has become completely substitutable, and consumers are going for availability and price.”

MAKING ROOM FOR INNOVATION At Beacon & Bridge—which typically devotes up to eight cooler doors to packaged beverages and six doors to beer—energy drinks are driving much of the change in resets. “Everyone has a new energy drink,” Patterson explained, and the energy segment has become a “competitive beast.” While Monster and Red Bull account for a combined 80% share of subsegment sales at the chain, new brands are also showing potential, and Patterson likes to provide them the opportunity to grow. He points to labels like Alani, Celsius, Ghost, G-Zone and Zoa as emerging contenders.

Kim Cuellar, category manager, beer, wine and packaged beverages at Oklahoma’s OnCue chain, is also excited about new energy brands like Alani, Celsius and Starbucks’ Baya—as well as True North caffeinated sparkling water from Monster—and is making room for them. Bottled water, however, has become “completely substitutable, and consumers are going for availability and price,” Cuellar remarked.

Among alcoholic beverages, hard seltzers have reached their peak, Cuellar believes, so her stores have cut back on offerings, focusing instead on segment leaders Truly and White Claw. “I’m so excited to see some new beer innovations coming out,” she said of products like Bud Light Next and Hard Mtn Dew. Yet, core brands such as Bud Light and Coors Light continue to comprise the majority of beer sales at the 75-unit chain, so they remain first in mind when it comes to cooler resets, Cuellar said. When planning a reset, she reviews each category and package, “looking at movement and margin and planning where I should expand or reduce.”

At Plaid Pantry in Oregon, meanwhile, one of the biggest shifts Jon Manuyag, director of marketing, has seen in the beer category since the pandemic began is a movement toward

mrPliskin/Getty Images; chanuth/Getty Images

Indeed, according to The Coca-Cola Co., beverages are the No. 1 trip driver in c-stores, so it’s important to give consumers a reason to go back to the cold vault time after time.

“To keep consumers engaged and traffic to the cold vault steady, there should be a balance between bestsellers and innovation,” remarked Carlton Austin, director of convenience retail strategy and commercialization, at the beverage company. And data and analytics are the appropriate tools to guide c-store operators in allocating space within the cold vault, he continued. “When operators take the time to understand the demographics and preferences of their customers, they’re able to navigate the current climate of supply chain issues while maximizing inventory,” said Austin, adding that hard data make questions about what products to add and what to remove much simpler.

Other beverage suppliers also point to the importance of a consumer-first approach to best-in-class cold-box management.

“Small-format shoppers browse fewer items and shop faster, making it essential to optimize shelf flow, space and assortment,” said Jenny Odom, vice president, national accounts at Constellation Brands’ beer division. According to Katie Survance, senior director, human insights at the company, Constellation Brands recommends that retailers “lean into the high end that drives beer category growth, prioritizing high-volume and high-incremental SKUs and segments,” and where consumption is either immediate or same day.

Beer Performance (2020)

12-packs. So his spring cooler reset and “fall tweak” will address the shift, he remarked, and “re-evaluate space to sales.” Single can offerings are among other package types that Manuyag frequently looks to fine-tune.

“Those are growth drivers for our business from a dollar and unit standpoint, and in terms of overall profitability,” he explained.

Avg. Sales/Store

Gross Margin %

Premium

$77,585

14.01%

Flavored Malt

$36,118

22.87%

Popular

$35,763

19.01%

Imports

$27,069

22.05%

Budget

$23,798

15.78%

Super Premium

$22,407

19.94%

Microbrews/Craft

$18,775

21.95%

Malt Liquor

$3,220

27.21%

$282

27.00%

$245,017

18.44%

Non-Alcoholic Beer

artJazz/Getty Images

Total SUPPLIER SOURCES Leading beverage suppliers are armed with strategies and recommendations for convenience retailers to aid them in effectively managing their refrigerators. “Maintaining a well-stocked cold vault that balances consumer favorites with exciting new products will maximize the space through reducing inventory costs and increasing turns,” Austin said.

Ambient and ancillary merchandising locations should also be used to supplement the cold box, he noted, such as large package sizes of popular products. Kevin Martello, vice president, convenience retail at Keurig Dr. Pepper, added that with flavors contributing to nearly 60% of c-store carbonated soft drink sales, retailers “can drive basket expansion through incremental flavors, sizes and packaging options.”

Leslie Newlee, vice president, insights and category development at Red Bull North America, said that while new brands have entered the market, “the convenience channel has been better than other outlets at protecting their shelves from an onslaught of unproven brands.” When planning an annual cold box reset, she advised retailers to consider long-term category forecasts. “Resets should lean into growth categories at the expense of categories in decline,” Newlee said.

Constellation Brands also encourages retailers to look forward, rather than back, when resetting cooler shelves. “C-stores should consider trends when addressing the ‘battle for the cold vault,’” suggested Odom.

“Retailers should be allocating space based on future opportunities, as doing so will allow

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

There should be a balance between bestsellers and innovation.” them to stay ahead of what their customers want and capitalize on growth potential.”

She recommended leading the beer flow with singles due to their profitability and high traffic, and then organizing singles by segment and price point, as well as placing high-velocity, high-end singles at eye level.

Placing the most incremental brands at eye level and near the handle provides easy shop-ability for consumers and trade-up potential for retailers, Odom said.

When it comes to beer multipacks, Erik Newcomb, director of national accounts at

NACS APRIL 2022 41

Packaged Beverages Performance (2020) Gross Margin %

Energy Drinks

$115,197

41.82%

Carbonated Soft Drinks

$92,874

34.88%

Bottled Water

$54,001

54.26%

Iced Tea, Ready to Drink

$37,339

49.24%

Sports Drinks

$37,701

47.62%

Juice/Juice Drinks

$32,158

48.12%

Other Packaged Beverages

$29,149

41.88%

$5,150

45.54%

$403,568

42.46%

Enhanced Water Total

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., said it can be a struggle for c-stores to stock both six- and 12-packs of the same brand and still offer variety. “Retailers will have to decide what’s best for that particular store location based on consumer demand,” he offered. But overall, Newcomb reminded, c-stores must satisfy their baseline beer customers by ensuring the products and packages they want are in stock, while working to grow assortment. “Taking care of baseline customers is job No. 1,” said the craft brewer.

DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS Beyond input from vendors, c-stores rely on a host of other tools to aid them in setting and managing the cold vault. Patterson, Manuyag and Cuellar place a big importance on internal sales reports. “I analyze my own internal data heavily and look for multiple markers,” said Cueller of OnCue. In addition to working closely with her distributors and key account managers, Cuellar stays connected to the Oklahoma beer community via groups on Facebook and Reddit to gauge products that may be causing excitement.

Other retailers say receiving direct requests from their customers is their preferred approach to bringing in new products into the cold box. Jessie Hamilton, manager of Wayne’s Food Mart in Montague, Michigan, said, “We’re a very customer-focused store, surrounded by much bigger players. If our customers ask for something, we do our best to

42 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

I take more care in building a planogram for the vault than I do for other categories.

It drives traffic.”

get it for them.” At Mendez Fuel in Miami, Andrew Mendez, co-owner, said, “I listen to my customers. They tell me what to buy.”

Like Cuellar, Mendez relies on social media to spot what’s trending and is quick to visit local breweries to see what they’re up to. “I’ll reach out to new brands,” the retailer said. “I don’t wait for them to come to me.”

Austin applauds comprehensive strategies when managing the cold box. “Operators should consider every available resource for insights, with consumer behavior being the center of all data,” the Coca-Cola executive said. “Managing the cold vault is both an art and a science. There is an art to selecting and highlighting variety within a c-store portfolio and a science behind understanding the beverage segmentation of your shoppers.”

Just as beverage suppliers have advice for retailers around the cold vault, merchants have suggestions for vendors. “Quit trying out all the new flavors,” said Hamilton. “Focus on the core products.” Cuellar advised that before new suppliers reach out to chain retailers about their products, they should be sure to have distribution locked in, whether it’s DSD or broadline. And Manuyag said that when presenting information to retailers, suppliers should point to market-specific data, not national figures.

Convenience retailers and beverage suppliers agree that the battle for the cold vault has never been fiercer. But with the right attention, the cooler can be a win-win for both tiers. “Keep the focus on total vault sales versus looking for that one single home run,” remarked Sierra Nevada’s Newcomb.

“Winning in the cold vault will usually come from multiple, steady incremental successes, rather than just one standout hero brand or package.”

Terri Allan is a New Jersey-based freelance writer, specializing in the beverage industry. She can be reached at terri4beer@aol.com and on Twitter at @terriallan.

chictype/Getty Images

Avg. Sales/Store

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A highlight of the opening day of the invitation-only event was a Q&A with Henry Armour, NACS President and CEO (right), and Jimmy Haslam, chairman of The Pilot Company.

Lonnie McQuirter, director of operations, 36 Lyn Refuel Station, moderated the 2022 forum.

Raghu Mahadevan, chief digital officer, 7-Eleven, shared how the retailer meets customers where they are through a focused digital strategy.

44 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Approaching the

NEXT WAVE of Retail

strizh/Getty Images

The NACS Leadership Forum explored the Great Attrition, customer experience, the digital path to purchase and more.

BY KIM STEWART

NACS APRIL 2022 45

“Build a Winning People Strategy” sparked discussion among HR executives from leading convenience retailers. L to R: Jamie Landis, vice president of team member experience, The Pilot Company; Seth Kamen, vice president of talent management, EG America; Shelly Gibson, chief legal and people officer, Thorntons; and Erin Pressley, vice president of media and education, NACS.

he NACS Leadership Forum returned to Miami Beach in February for the first time since 2020 for three days of networking and general sessions packed with insights into some top-ofmind challenges and opportunities for convenience retailers, from employee engagement to last-mile technologies to the consumer experience.

The annual invitation-only event brings together retailers and suppliers to explore future-focused ideas and connect with industry peers. Lonnie McQuirter, director of operations for 36 Lyn Refuel Station in Minneapolis and a NACS board member, moderated the 2022 forum.

Attendees enjoyed being back in Miami Beach and networking in the sunshine.

46 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

INTERVIEW: JIMMY HASLAM On the opening evening, Henry Armour, NACS president and CEO, and Jimmy Haslam, chairman of The Pilot Company and co-owner of the Cleveland Browns NFL team and the Columbus Crew Major League Soccer team, sat down for a Q&A that sparked a standing ovation when it was over.

“I believe this is a great country if you work hard and get a little luck and have the right people around you,” Haslam said, as he shared how the business grew from a single gas station in Gate City, Virginia, that his father, Jim, purchased in 1958 for $4,000, to a network of about 700 travel centers and 150 dealers across the U.S. and Canada, plus PFJ Energy and an oilfield services business.

“It’s been an evolution,” Haslam said of Pilot, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and his career. “It’s a great business if you like people, you like a lot of things going on—a lot of action. I tell people all the time that I’ve worked at Pilot 46 years now, and I’ve never had a boring day.”

Armour asked, “What were some of the key inflection points in the history of the company that caused you to pivot a little bit or maybe just accelerate in the direction you were going?”

Haslam offered several key inflection points for Pilot. The first was a 1964 partnership with Marathon. “Marathon at the time was looking for young enterprising people to build up chains of gas stations,” Haslam explained. “They would supply and finance, and then they own 50% and the operator owns 50%.” A key part of the agreement was a deal his father struck that paved the way for either of his then young sons to become CEO in case the elder Haslam stepped aside. Typically, ownership was limited to the current CEO in agreements like this with major oil companies. “That’s why they were never able to buy us out, so it was a really good decision,” Haslam said.

A second inflection point came in 1980 when Haslam and his father visited a “c-store truck stop” in Slidell, Louisiana, that was doing phenomenal fuel sales. The operator, a former football player at the University of Tennessee, where the elder Haslam also had played for the Volunteers, “immediately took to dad, and he was more of a real estate developer not an operator, so he shared everything with us, and we shamelessly copied and built our first truck stop in Corbin, Kentucky.”

Haslam recalled a 1984 business trip with fellow Tennessean Bill Weigel, whose family started the Weigel’s chain of convenience stores. The pair were in El Paso, Texas, with some time on their hands so they drove to New Mexico. “I don’t know which one of us said it—he said he did,” Haslam recalled, nodding at Weigel, who was among the NACS Leadership Forum attendees and is chairman of Weigel’s. “I think we looked at each other and said, you know we haven’t built these things [truck stops] all over the country. And we literally went over there and called on a piece of property in Las Cruces, New Mexico, that we still have today, store No. 266.”

In 1988, Pilot split with Marathon to focus on building a nationwide network of truck stops. Then “in 2000,” he said, “we looked around and everybody in the world was building truck stops,” so the company decided to shift to being a consolidator and asked Morgan Stanley to help find a partner. “Lo and behold, they came back with Marathon, and so that’s what created Pilot Travel Centers,” Haslam said. Rival Flying J went into bankruptcy in 2008, and Pilot eventually was cleared to buy its travel center network to form Pilot Flying J. In 2017, Warren Buffett’s

Lisa Dell’Alba, president and CEO of Square One Markets, shows off her finds at an on-site pop-up.

The curated assortment of items in trend-focused categories showed firsthand how to drive points of differentiation and memorable experiences.

Raymond Huff (center), president of Russell’s Convenience, networks with Clay and Mia Lambert, Metro Petro.

Van Tarver, chairman, GreenPrint, chats with Tim Venghaus, GreenPrint director of business development.

NACS APRIL 2022 47

The digital age-verification system TruAge added another supporter (Reynolds American) to its roster.

Lori Stillman, NACS vice president of research, explored how to help customers find convenience retailers along the digital path to purchase.

NACS President and CEO Henry Armour welcomed Master of Convenience recipients to the stage.

48 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Berkshire Hathaway took a minority stake in Pilot Flying J and will become the majority shareholder in 2023.

“What we’ve done well is change,” Haslam said.

“Change as the times demand.

I think as we look going forward, we’re also going to have to change more than we have in the past to be quicker on our feet and more fluid.”

Armour asked Haslam to share some key attributes of a successful leader. Haslam stressed the importance of giving feedback to your teams instead of avoiding conflict. “In football it’s kind of like being tackled. The first time it happens you don’t like it, but the more you do it the more you become better at it,” Haslam said. Don’t demean people, he said, but hold them accountable. Help them become the best person, the best team member that they can be, he said.

“I think just being deadly honest, particularly on really critical issues, and then when there is a coachable moment, coach it right away—don’t wait,” Haslam advised. “That’s something I wish I’d learned a lot earlier in my career,” he said.

One of the things Pilot Company focuses on is “getting the right people in the right place,” which “is the single most important thing a leader can do,” Haslam said. “At Pilot, we talk about being hungry. In other words, we work hard. Humble, which I don’t know how you all are, but I value humility way more than I used to,” he said. “Humble, hungry, accountable and then commercial. We’re not doing this for the hell of it as you say, we’re doing it to make money. Not everybody has to have commercial skills, but a certain percentage of the organization does…Where we fall short is we don’t always hire like that. You don’t have to be four for four, particularly at certain levels, but you can’t be one for four. So, if you want to have that kind of culture you have to hire into that image.”

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Ben Kipfer, chief operating officer, Choice Market, described how Choice Market weaves technology into its operations.

L to R: Gray Taylor, Conexxus executive director; Jigar Patel, Fish River Food Mart; Geoff Wigner, Nashville Display; Lonnie McQuirter, 36 Lyn Refuel Station; and Derek Gaskins, Yesway, reconnect at the forum.

50 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

REACHING CONSUMERS On Thursday, Ben Kipfer, chief operating officer, Choice Market, and Raghu Mahadevan, chief digital officer, 7-Eleven, shared how their respective companies approach customer needs in “Meeting Consumers Where They Are.” Denver-based Choice Market, which has four locations, is creating a technology-centric network of what it dubs convenient, small format markets and last-mile fulfilment centers that offer high-quality, local products, with an emphasis on better-for-you food that aligns with the environmental and social values that its core digitally connected customer base embraces. “We are really focused on reinventing convenience and convenience stores,” Kipfer said. “When I describe Choice to my friends and family, I often say, imagine Whole Foods assortment meets a Sweet Green or Chipotle all wrapped in a 7-Eleven space.” There are four different store configurations tailored for different neighborhoods: urban market, suburban mobility center, autonomous mini-mart in nontraditional retail spaces and smart vending machines for campus environments.

The shift in consumer demand that the pandemic accelerated is an opportunity to rethink what the c-store can and should be, Kipfer explained. E-commerce accounts for about 30% of Choice Markets’ business today, and the retailer is investing heavily in technology to continue to grow its digital business.

Kipfer shared two of the challenges Choice faces as a small startup. The first is, “We have more data right now than we could possibly know what to do with,” he said. With the help of some partners, Choice is looking at external consumer data, internal customer data, financial data and operational data to “support more real-time and robust decision-making to help us improve our daily business and also help us to scale,” Kipfer said. “The second challenge is upskilling our workforce,” he said, which ties into leveraging new in-store technology to better meet consumer demand.

Choice takes a multipronged approach when it comes to meeting customers where they are. There’s an app with shoppable recipes and a personalized loyalty program, buyonline-pickup-in-store services, self-checkout, a new autonomous format, third-party delivery, own-store delivery via electric vehicle and Tortoise autonomous delivery.

“We do a lot of work and sales on third-party platforms,” Kipfer said, including Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and Chowhound.

“We have the opportunity to turn on and off delivery for an Uber Eats order, for instance, so I can say, hey, we’re going to go ahead and do this delivery because it’s going to save us a significant amount of money on that transaction because they’re taking quite a bit off the top,” he said of the fees third-party delivery providers charge c-stores and restaurants.

“We are looking at investing in new tools that allow us to do smart routing so that we will be able to look at whether it’s a native delivery order for us, and we can go run it in our vehicles with our team members based on labor, based on distance, based on, is this a current customer?” The technology will help Choice manage costs around delivery.

C-STORE TECHNOLOGY

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort Tucson, Arizona (+ virtual option) May 1-5, 2022

Conexxus 2022 Annual Conference It’s time to get together IN PERSON again!

Join your c-store and retail fuel colleagues in real life for four-days of discussion on the significant technological advancements that have occured in our industry these past two years, and what lies ahead between now and 2030.

2 0 2 2 Di a mo n d S p o n sor s

2 0 2 2 E me ra l d S p o n sor s

The Conexxus Annual Conference focuses on new technology and technology standards that improve business processes, reduce costs, and increase profitability in the convenience and fuel retail industry.

Attendees, both members and non-members, join Conexxus business and technical committees to discuss the critical technology issues that

2 0 2 2 Ga rn e t S p o n sor s

are currently, and will in the future, change the way we do business.

Learn More & Register at: www.conexxus.org/AC2022

Top-to-top meetings between NACS Hunter Club members like Mondele-z International and leading retailers are a key component of the event.

7-Eleven is the largest convenience retailer in the U.S., and like Choice Market, is heavily focused on digital innovation. The Texas-based company has more than 13,000 c-stores serving 12 million customers a day across the U.S. and nearly 80,000 locations worldwide. Mahadevan reminded the audience of 7-Eleven founder Joe Thompson Jr.’s motto: “Give the customer what they want, when and where they want it.” Today that’s become “Be the first choice for convenience. Anytime. Anywhere.” The customer, Mahadevan said, is always at the center.

7-Eleven’s digital journey began in earnest in 2015 with a “very conscious investment in trying to meet the customer where they

are as they move forward,” he said. What followed was the drawing together of a worldclass digital technology team that paved the way for custom-built technology powering a relaunched app with the Seven Rewards program, the launch of contactless payments and ramped up R&D efforts.

From 2019 to the present has seen the launch of 7NOW delivery, mobile checkout and fuel loyalty and 7-Eleven Wallet, which allows cash customers to load funds into their digital wallet and use all of the features in the digital ecosystem. The latest innovation is an autonomous store featuring 7-Eleven’s own proprietary technology in a company store-support center in Dallas. “The store can handle beverages, hot food—everything,” Mahadevan said. “Customers walk into the store, leave the store and everything is seamless,” he shared.

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52 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

there for the value it gives for our customers,” Mahadevan said.

When it comes to delivery of convenience items, customers want their food and drinks delivered fast. “7NOW is the 7-Eleven store to your door in just a few minutes,” Mahadevan said. “We currently cover 95% of our footprint, and it’s 95% because there are really some stores where it’s very hard to find drivers around those stores,” he said, touching on a labor pain point that nearly all retailers face. He noted that basket size for delivery is at least two or three times as big as in-store baskets.

Along its digital journey, 7-Eleven has learned the importance of real-time inventory to keep its product substitution rate low.

“If you’re showing your product to the customer and it’s not going to be there, you can go through a lot of substitutions on the back end, but you’re still not giving the customer the choice that they wanted,” the 7-Eleven COO said. So, 7-Eleven added real-time inventory capabilities “so if a product is not

there it doesn’t show up” in the customer’s app. That also means building best-in-class “pick-pack operations” enabled in part by a 7HOUR tablet “to make it as seamless as possible for our store operators to fulfill on the delivery product.”

IMMERSIVE RETAIL On Friday, David Bell, founder of Idea Farm Ventures and former professor of The

Afternoons included time for NACS Hunter Club members and retailers to connect.

NACS APRIL 2022 53

David Bell, founder of Idea Farm Ventures and former professor of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, discussed how to design and deliver customer-focused, immersive retail.

Annie Valkova, associate partner, Chicago, McKinsey & Company, shared data behind the “Great Attrition.”

Digital extra!

Visit NACSmagazine.com to see more learnings from the NACS Leadership Forum.

54 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, shared “How to Design and Deliver Consumer-Resonant and Immersive Retail” to close out the NACS Leadership Forum at the Eden Roc in Miami Beach.

Using case studies from Diapers.com, Warby Parker and Harry’s, among others, Bell showed how retail has evolved across three waves: location of stores (brick-and-mortar), location of customers (e-commerce) and location of activities (omnichannel).

“A big mistake that a lot of people made 20 years ago was that digital and e-commerce would eat this and that—it’s going to kill physical. But of course, that’s completely not true,” Bell said. What’s interesting, he said, is that companies that started first with brick-and-mortar stores—like Macy’s—often stumbled when launching e-commerce in part because the digital side was treated as a separate business and wasn’t properly integrated into the company.

He offered a framework for deploying retail in an omnichannel environment.

“Whether you’re a department store or supermarket or convenience retailer, two fundamental things have to be delivered to customers. No. 1: We have to be able to give customers information about what we sell.

What are the prices? What are the brands?

What are the elements, the customer service, the terms of trade and everything else? And No. 2: We have to be able to fulfill product.

We’re going to get them stuff. We’re going to take returns if they need returns.”

The idea of customers buying goods online and then picking them up in store or curbside took off during the pandemic. “Everybody had to integrate the inventory management system into the website so that you could show people what you actually had in stock,” Bell said.

“That’s opened up interesting possibilities for delivery companies and everything else.”

When people are in physical stores, they crave engagement and experience—and will share it through their own spheres of influence. “Your audience has an audience,” Bell said. “Today, if you have a fantastic operation and 100 people come in, maybe 10,000 learn about it. Because when people come in, they create content, and they share and upload content.”

Now, retail can be everywhere, and everything is shoppable. Bell pointed to a Los Angeles company that sells outdoor furniture, and one of the ways it markets its brand is by incentivizing customers to transform their backyards into showrooms where strangers can stop by and check out the products.

“Think about the power of retail happening in places other than stores and other than e-commerce,” Bell said.

Kim Stewart is editor-in-chief of NACS Magazine and editorial director of NACS. She can be reached at kstewart@ convenience.org.

a t v e e l E E e x r p o e t r S i enc n I e e h t

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Sampling new foodservice and limited-time offers delivers excitement to your stores.

BY CHRISSY BLASINSKY

W

Pixel-Shot/Getty Images

hen you hear the words “food” and “sampling,” one company likely comes to mind: Costco. “There’s no brand that’s as strongly associated with free samples as Costco. …Costco knows that sampling, if done right, can convince people that its stores are fun places to be,” according to The Atlantic.

Many of us can relate. When Costco hit the market in the 1980s, sampling was so new and exciting in food retail that it was like getting a free lunch just by walking the warehouse aisles.

Can convenience stores replicate the fun factor with sampling programs? Absolutely. A Costco store is about 50 times larger than the average c-store, but the goals for sampling are similar: Create excitement about your brand, your stores and products and boost customer loyalty.

If you’re new to sampling, it can vary from an active crew-served program to a passive program with an unmanned tray. One is going to be more effective than the other—more on that later.

SAMPLING SUCCESS With 45 years of experience leading successful foodservice programs at 7-Eleven, MAPCO, Stop & Go Markets and Rutter’s, convenience retail foodservice expert and consultant Jerry Weiner believes that sampling is a tried-andtrue method for creating excitement and driving sales.

His first suggestion? Sampling should be treated as a marketing/advertising program. It’s a method of “getting your message out” that is immediate and grabs customers as they walk into your store. Next, it’s free food or drink for the customer, which is not a tough sell. “You’re not asking them to make a purchase” with a sample, he said.

One pitfall to avoid is using sampling to get rid of product that’s heading for the garbage bin. “Sampling is not a way to get rid of waste,” such as the unsellables or LTOs coming off the menu, said Weiner.

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More Than Food

FINANCIAL IMPACT To plan for the costs associated with sampling, “calculate your estimated food and labor costs, create an estimate and determine your anticipated sales increase—and be sure to track the results,” said Weiner, who recommends a 2-2-1 plan: Dedicate about two labor hours per day for two rotating samples per week.

Weiner suggested that retailers focus efforts on quality products customers haven’t tried yet or showcase the new daypart LTOs and products such as new coffee or frozen carbonated beverage flavors. “You may be surprised by the impact this will have on your growth and profitability,” including faster trial of new items and an estimated 20% lift in units while sampling.

Sampling is also a great way to engage with supplier partners to support your program.

Ask them what’s new and coming to market for LTO foodservice items or new product lines and be the first to bring that excitement to customers.

Going beyond foodservice, retailers can capitalize on other in-store categories to drive brand excitement.

“During my 17 years with the Sunflower Group I have yet to find a customer who doesn’t love learning about or trying a new product,” said Whitney Ray, vice president, client experience for Sunflower Group, an experiential marketing agency, noting that sampling new confections, snacks, packaged beverages or new in-store services is a great way to create excitement.

“Consider building themed events that are relevant to either the time of year or a collection of products across one or many categories,” said Ray. Samples can be prepackaged full-size products to individual tastes of featured products. “Sample bags that offer a variety of products to try ‘on the go’ are a welcome solution for consumers in a hurry,” she said.

She also advised that out-of-stocks “don’t mix well with product sampling” and recommends that retailers ensure there is plenty of inventory for the distribution of samples.

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BonNontawat/Getty Images

A key to successful sampling is having the right people on the sampling team.”

Paul Servais, retail food service director at La Crosse, Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip, agrees. “We don’t sample food close to expiration to hide waste. We want our guests to have our food when it’s at its best—fresh, right out of the oven,” he said, adding that to ensure quality and freshness, unused samples are discarded within 5-10 minutes of being made.

While at York, Pennsylvania-based Rutter’s, Weiner and his team were not shy about introducing unique menu items. For example, the Route 30 sandwich launched in 2015: two grilled cheese sandwiches stacked with a 100% Angus beef burger, Alaskan cod or grilled chicken and fully customizable with additional toppings. This creation led to the Route 30 Burger, which is still on the Rutter’s menu.

Weiner also found that sampling at 2 a.m. or soon after the bars close can be successful, especially for newer and indulgent menu items. “These are great customers” for trying new food items, he said.

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HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR ACTIVE SAMPLING:

Choose samplers who have personality and knowledge of the products being sampled

Have menus and bounce backs available for customers

Use individual souffle cups and have the sampler, who is wearing gloves, hand the item to customers

Don’t be afraid to step out of the box—literally—and try sampling at the pump to entice gas-only customers inside the store

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Kwik Trip uses sampling to get customers to try its latest foodservice offers.

EFFECTIVE SAMPLING There are a few methods to the madness behind sampling, such as which items to sample and when. For example, during the busy morning rush, sample a midday LTO to get the customer thinking about lunch.

And during the lunchtime rush, get customers thinking about breakfast or dinner with fresh meals to go. The idea is to generate FOMO (fear of missing out) if an LTO is gone before they get their hands on it.

Whitney Ray, vice president, client experience for Sunflower Group, an experiential marketing agency that is part of Advantage Solutions, said that in-store sampling is one of the only marketing strategies that can deliver on the emotional and functional benefits of a brand or product, which creates “memorable experiences that matter for the shopper” and builds stronger brand connectivity, increased purchase conversion and loyalty.

So, which sampling method is more effective—active or passive?

Most retailers agree that active sampling yields the best results. Passive sampling may not be the appropriate technique for certain products, like hot prepared foodservice, which should be showcased as fresh and delicious as possible.

Since 2002, Kwik Trip has run an active sampling program at its stores. “I’m not a fan of passive sampling because you can’t always watch the product and the tray” and communicate potential allergens with customers, said Servais.

For Kwik Trip, each store samples for 20 hours a week, and labor and the cost of the samples are included in a separate budget from the store. “We have a dedicated ‘Food Product Demonstrator’ for this purpose,” said Servais.

Employee interaction with the customer is important—in most cases the employee has only three to five seconds to pitch the sample. “Realistic expectations need to be set on what that interaction will look like and the type of dialogue that can happen in a condensed timeframe. Irrelevant products, long interactions and oversized setups are just a few planning downfalls that can lead to a negative experience,” said Ray. Servais agrees that a key to successful sampling is having the right people on the sampling team. “They are our ‘food ambassadors’ and have a lot of interaction with the customers,” he said. To help them gain knowledge of the food and programs, Kwik Trip publishes a monthly “Food Product Demonstrating Newsletter” that highlights new food products like meal kits, pizzas and limited time offers, pricing and holidays.

“We have been effectively sampling our food in our stores for almost 20 years—it works!” said Servais.

Chrissy Blasinsky is the content communications strategist at NACS and can be reached at cblasinsky@ convenience.org.

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Quality &Value Don’t count out the profits that can come from price-value tobacco products.

“Retail stores can help their tobacco consumers understand 62 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

This interview is brought to you by Cheyenne International, a NACS member.

WHY SHOULD CONVENIENCE RETAILERS BE FOCUSING ON VALUE TOBACCO PRODUCTS? It’s simple: There’s value in price-value tobacco products.

Many people hear the term “price-value” and automatically associate it with lower quality products. More often than not, penny profit and margin can be at the same, or even a higher rate, with value brands when compared with premium brands. It sounds obvious, but counting out the profits that come from price-value products can result in a loss of profitability altogether.

Take cigarettes, for example. While the overall category is declining, the fourth-tier cigarette category grew 3.4% in 2021. As premium tobacco brand growth has slowed, discount brands have catapulted and a lot of that can be tied to the purchasing effort of the consumer. Adult consumers have become more educated than ever about the brands they buy and are realizing that quality products can come at a lower cost. Retailers should embrace the fact that the sentiment, “you get what you pay for,” no longer rings true for the modern-day tobacco consumer experience.

WHAT DO CONSUMERS LOOK FOR IN A VALUE TOBACCO PRODUCT? Over the past two years, living in a constant state of change and ambiguity has profoundly reformed the buying behaviors of adult consumers. In response to economic pressures, product availability and financial uncertainty, consumers have become inherently more price conscious, with the intent to spend focused on finding the most value for their buck. Each buyer who walks into a store has a different value threshold, and retailers need to adjust their product mix with various pricing options on the shelf to meet consumers where they’re at today.

Consumers want to feel confident in their purchases and have become more knowledgeable about the brands they buy and the products that fit their needs. In tobacco—when many products went behind the counter—the manufacturer and consumer relationship became more direct and an essential part of the buying process. Regardless of brand or value proposition, consumers want a quality product at a fair price, something that tastes good, is consistently available and fits their budget. Price-value products can deliver on all of those fronts and, when buying from a reputable company such as Cheyenne International, can help consumers make purchases that are mindful and feel financially empowering.

WHILE PRICE IS IMPORTANT, CONSUMERS STILL WANT A RELIABLE BRAND, IS THAT RIGHT? Absolutely, and customer confidence is even more important for retailers. Tobacco laws and regulations are constantly changing, and the regulatory grip just keeps tightening. If a retailer is buying Ernie Teague Vice President from a tobacco manufacturer Sales & Marketing www.cheyenneintl.com that isn’t playing by the book (and we’re seeing this happening a lot right now in our industry), they could be the one left holding the bag when all is said and done. To provide consumers with value products at the best price in the most convenient way, it’s critical that retailers work with brands and manufacturers that are reliable and reputable.

Between supply chain issues and regulatory compliance, thoughtful action must be taken so that the end consumer feels no disruption to their brand experience. Consumers don’t want a product that’s here today and gone tomorrow— nor do retailers. Retail stores can help their tobacco consumers understand that value doesn’t have to mean bottom of the barrel. The manufacturers you choose to work with matter, and retailers should stay conscious of the companies they choose to do business with and never settle. Buying from reputable sources with American-made products is an essential factor to meeting consumers’ expectations.

OUTSIDE OF CIGARETTES, WHAT ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN VALUE TOBACCO PRODUCTS THAT RETAILERS SHOULD BE EXPLORING? Price-value is not subjective to cigarettes alone and touches all tobacco channels. While there is plenty of opportunity to grow your cigarette sales and expand your profits with deep-discount brands, retailers should also be looking to capitalize their tobacco revenue through other profit-generating categories, such as OTP. People like options, and diversifying your tobacco category segments with value options in moist snuff and filtered cigars, for example, can prove beneficial. Building a robust OTP category allows you the ability to offer the right mix of product to consumers, which is especially important at a time when many are trading down. Your shelf space is valuable—make the most of it.

that value doesn’t have to mean bottom of the barrel.”

NACS APRIL 2022 63

Happy Workers, Happy Customers Here’s why a positive employee culture can result in increased customer loyalty— however your store defines loyalty.

BY SARA COUNIHAN

64 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

working at your store. “[Culture] is akin to the water at the aquarium. It’s always there and almost see-through, but it has to be nourished to keep the fish and others alive and thriving,” she said.

Minnesota-based 36 Lyn Refuel Station cultivates a culture where employees feel dignified and respected in their positions. “We had a shirt made that our staff loves to wear that says, ‘The whole world is short staffed right now. Be kind to those who showed up.’ A lot of customers really love the shirt because it’s acknowledging those that are getting up each day and going to work whether they be trauma surgeons, fire women or front-line employees like a lot of my staff,” said Lonnie McQuirter, owner and director of operations.

That internal respect for employees is then reflected outward to customers. McQuirter says the c-store prides itself on knowing its customers and being a place where people from different walks of life can feel comfortable shopping any time of the day. “How [a customer] starts the day or how they finish the day can really make their week, their month or their year if they had a good experience at a convenience store or any other place they stop in,” said McQuirter.

der_flow/Getty Images

lthough company culture has been a hot topic in the HR space for quite some time, what often gets overlooked in customer-facing industries is the correlation between employee happiness and engagement and increased customer loyalty.

According to Sheetz President and CEO Travis Sheetz, Sheetz stores where employees are more engaged without question have better sales metrics. “If people aren’t happy to be there, that naturally reaches across the counter,” said Sheetz during a panel discussion at the 2021 NACS Show.

Jenny Love Meyer, chief culture officer at Love’s Travel Stops and also a 2021 NACS Show presenter, said culture is vital for employee engagement, and many times it’s not about the paycheck for employees. It’s about what values your employees can gain by

NACS APRIL 2022 65

Sheetz associates at work in the kitchen.

A Love’s Travel Stops associate talks to a young customer.

36 Lyn team members sport their staff t-shirts.

Our staff t-shirt says ‘The whole world is short staffed right now.

Be kind to those who showed up.’

66 MARCH 2022 convenience.org

DEFINING LOYALTY 36 Lyn is a one-location convenience store located in downtown Minneapolis. McQuirter says that to increase customer loyalty, it’s important to determine what loyalty means for your company. He says that loyalty shouldn’t be defined just by repeat customers. Over the past year, one of 36 Lyn’s goals was to spend more time with customers and engage with them longer.

“It’s really about engaging and spending time talking with customers longer because in our city and what’s been going on the past couple years, there are a lot of people that are struggling to find a sense of community and a place where they belong,” said McQuirter.

McQuirter empowers his employees to engage with customers with that goal in mind—to make people feel welcome and that they belong. Having this unified, altruistic goal shows employees that what they do matters, he says. McQuirter believes his employees’ greater purpose is to create a culture of belonging for the community—which in turn, creates that same culture for the employees. “Defining [your] goals and really working with the staff by talking about them is something that’s really important,” said McQuirter.

MEASURING SUCCESS “The true measure of a store’s culture is what goes on when you’re not there,” said Sheetz.

When he first started working at the company, the culture was good, but nothing was formalized. Sheetz and his team identified seven key culture points, putting respect at the center, and then they tested it against organization. “It has to feel right to the employees of the company. Before that, it was a feel when you worked at Sheetz. When we formalized it, we created an expectation and a means to measure it,” said Sheetz.

Headquarters sends culture surveys to each store—one focused on the store and another on the store manager. The retailer also participates in Fortune Magazine’s Best Companies to Work For list, but the primary goal is not to have the Sheetz name on the list but to receive the information on other often-competing companies on the list.

“We are very purposeful about managing culture. We take all employee complaints to a specific employee engagement group in the company. The group looks at the results and uses culture scores from the results to develop [employees]. Sheetz doesn’t fire over [the results]. It’s a way to coach them,” said Sheetz.

Another way company culture engages employees is by taking care of the mental and emotional wellbeing of their employees. “We make sure that work is not dominating their life—there’s a different work expectation now,” said Sheetz.

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Engagement Drivers As competition for good talent intensifies, ensuring that your employees feel valued is an important, affordable way to achieve a good reputation in the workplace. In addition, how people treat each other at work is vital, particularly to younger employees. And when you treat your employees well, they’ll treat your customers well.

Building a culture of employee engagement can increase a store’s financial performance, decrease turnover and build stronger customer loyalty.

The NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council report, “Power Up Your People,” shows that profitable growth is directly tied to your people and how engaged they are with their jobs.

Many factors combine to increase employee engagement. All of them make a difference, but some have more impact than others in convenience retailing. According to the report, when employees were asked what mattered most to them, four things stood out: • Company concern for their well-being • Opportunities to use personal strengths • Clear expectations • Encouragement to find better ways to work Access the NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council report “Power Up Your People” at www.ccrrc.org.

Love’s, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, assesses employee engagement through a variety of measures, including an annual employee survey with the same questions year over year to establish benchmarks. The company also looks at employee turnover and retention. For Love’s, another sure sign of good culture at a store is the number of referral bonuses a store receives.

36 Lyn gauges employee engagement a little differently. McQuirter picks up anecdotes from customers when he’s in the store, and he pays attention to customer reviews. McQuirter also takes the time to sit down and ask staff members how they think the store has been doing and how customer interactions are going, and he asks them to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the culture.

“Those are questions that we ask on a regular basis of the staff. It helps to align us so that the goals that I have and the goals that they have are one in the same,” said McQuirter.

He also asks each staff member who has been invaluable to them recently, whether it be a co-worker, customer, family member—anyone.

68 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

McQuirter also asks them another question: What else? “[Both of these questions] are to help stimulate them and allow them to say whatever’s on their mind. It helps them identify their feelings and opinions or why they may or may not be happy,” he explained.

McQuirter recently spoke with an employee and the conversation turned into a six-hour talk, with McQuirter mainly listening.

Later, he heard that the employee shared with co-workers that the conversation with McQuirter had left an impression and that no one had given them the opportunity to talk like that before.

“Part of my aim is for me to understand [my employees] and to help [my employees] understand the person on the other side of the counter,” he said.

MAKING TIME Companies that want to start working on their culture should begin by writing down what a good employee culture means to their company uniquely, says Sheetz. “Write it down so you know how to hire to it and lead to it. … It’s never too late. It’s a marathon not a sprint,” said Sheetz.

Love Meyer agreed and added, get to know your organization by surveying employees to see why they stay at your organization—that in turn becomes the basis of your organization, she says.

But for small operators, focusing on employee culture as it relates to customer loyalty can seem like a time expense they may not be able to afford. McQuirter, whose store has 10 employees, says looking at it from that perspective misses the point of what loyalty is about. “People kind of have this jealousy toward large companies with their huge teams [dedicated] to loyalty, and they’re kind of missing a big point here,” said McQuirter.

The people “helping them get to where they need to be are their staff and their customers,” he said. They are the “more sophisticated parts of our business operations,” McQuirter said.

Sara Counihan is contributing editor of NACS Daily and NACS Magazine. Contact her at scounihan@convenience.org.

Cool New Products Guide This advertorial-style guide of services and packaging appears monthly and is an information-packed tour of ideas and approaches that can change how consumers view your store or choose your brand. It spotlights the newest thinking in convenience and fuel retailing and gives you an advance look at ways of staying in front of industry trends.

Products are categorized the same way we organize the Cool New Products Preview Room at the NACS Show each year in October— New Design, New to the Industry, New Flavors, Health & Wellness, Green (EcoFriendly), New Services and New Technology.

Products are considered “new” this year if they’ve been introduced since October 2021.

The products featured here also can be seen in the Cool New Products Discovery Center at www.convenience.org/coolnewproducts.

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Today’s labor market positions convenience retailers against QSRs and other retail channels in the race to attract, hire and retain talent. To compete, c-stores must keep up with the rapid pace of change by developing and implementing competitive compensation strategies. A data-driven strategy can inform decision making and execution. This year’s report covers the latest industry data, trends and insights on salaries, benefits, turnover, recruitment & retention—plus: New Positions (Director of Food Safety and Social Media/Marketing Manager); New Benefits (career development planning, bonus/incentive programs, in-store discounts, severance); Cost to Hire & Cost to Train; Productivity (number of days to full productivity and number of training hours in the first 90 days). Order your digital copy at www.convenience.org/CompReport.

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Introducing Crunchy Snack Cakes

The Reese’s brand is rolling out a snack bar for fans to enjoy…Reese’s Snack Bar. Reese’s Snack Bar is the perfect mixture of crispy, crunchy, salty and sweet. It starts with a layer of crisped whole grain rice mixed with bits of crunchy roasted peanuts, then topped with Reese’s peanut butter creme and bottomed in milk chocolate. Reese’s Snack Bars are available in convenience stores nationwide. (SRP: $1.59)

In 2020, Reese’s launched a new addition to the morning lineup with Reese’s Snack Cakes. This year the Reese’s brand is introducing a strong sequel…Reese’s Crunchy Snack Cakes. Reese’s Crunchy Snack Cakes are baked snacks that bring a delicious, easy-to-eat, and filling snack. It consists of a soft baked chocolate cake layer topped with salty Reese’s Peanut Butter Creme and crunchy peanuts covered in smooth, real milk chocolate. Reese’s Crunchy Snack Cakes are available at convenience stores nationwide. (SRP: $1.99)

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NACS APRIL 2022 73

GAS STATION GOURMET

Rolling With Pepperoni Mt. Top Convenience is a must-stop for locals and tourists alike in Thomas, West Virginia.

BY AL HEBERT

E

very state has a first. The first airplane flew in North Carolina. No surprise that sunscreen was first developed in Florida. West Virginia is the birthplace of the pepperoni roll. Nearly 100 years after their creation, pepperoni rolls can be found at Mt. Top Convenience in Thomas.

Pepperoni rolls were first baked in 1927 as a convenient lunch option for coal miners. Today, they’re still found in the lunch boxes of workers and students.

“The pepperoni roll is bread dough flattened with pepperoni and cheese, rolled up and baked. It comes out about the size of a hot dog bun,” owner Tammy Markwood explained, adding, “We do nine different kinds. Traditional as well as ones with jalapeños, banana peppers and some with bacon.”

Markwood and her husband, Mike, along with Doug Smith, bought the store in 2003. They’ve worked hard to make it a food destination, both for local residents and the many skiers and vacationers who descend on the area.

Visitors to the Mountain State seek out the c-store’s pepperoni rolls.

“That’s what we’re known for,” said Markwood. The tiny city of Thomas is about 15 miles from the Maryland state 74 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Beth Evans prepares pepperoni rolls in the kitchen at Mt. Top Convenience.

line. When tourists stop at the visitor center, they ask about pepperoni rolls, and they’re directed to Mt. Top. The convenience store sells 65,000 pepperoni rolls a year in a city of about 525 people. The store received quite a bit of attention in 2021. “We placed 1st runner-up for the ‘Best Pepperoni Rolls’ in West Virginia Living Magazine’s Best of West Virginia” annual reader survey, Markwood said, adding, “People

come in and ask if they’re in the right place with the great pepperoni rolls.”

There are few things better than having a menu item that draws customers to a store. Markwood talked about customer passion. “There’s a guy who drives an hour and a half to buy 18 of them. One lady buys two dozen every three weeks and mails them to her son.”

DAILY SPECIALS Pepperoni rolls may have put Mt. Top Convenience on the map, but the store’s daily specials keep locals coming back.

Skiers also pass through the quaint town on their way to the slopes.

“We have a lot of repeat customers.

They come in each day. The hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy is really popular,” she said.

One of the more unique offerings is a Crispy Chicken Wrap. “It’s potato

At left, Mt. Top Convenience owners Doug Smith, Tammy Markwood and Mike Markwood show off the warm, fresh pepperoni rolls that await customers every day. Meatball subs are also popular.

chip crusted chicken. We do this on Mondays. It’s pretty popular, but if customers ask for it on other days, we fix it for them.” Other hot sandwiches include an Italian sausage sub with peppers, meatball sub and chicken parmesan sub.

BUILD YOUR OWN PIZZA Who doesn’t love building a pizza?

Customers can customize their orders and watch as they are prepared.

When you have a popular sandwich, turn it into a pizza. “We sell a ton of steak subs. So, we decided to make it into a steak pizza. Instead of red sauce we use mayonnaise, minced garlic and cheese along with green peppers and onions,” Markwood described.

Custom-made deli sandwiches, wings and bean-to-cup coffee also count among the many items customers can enjoy at Mt. Top Convenience.

STAFFING Every business in America seems to be seeking employees. Attracting workers is daunting. “Potential employees will not even show up for an interview,” she said.

“We’ve been hiring for two years.

We’re pretty good right now and have a great crew, but we could use another part-time person. When summer comes, we’ll need two additional employees,” she said.

Everyone is feeling the pinch. “A lot of businesses around us are closing early because they don’t have the staff.

Some go from five days a week to three days because they don’t have the employees. We’ve talked about strategies to keep employees. Come summer we may have to do something about it.”

LIQUOR Mt. Top Convenience has a large liquor inventory. “There are only three liquor

stores in the county. All the local bars have to buy from one of us,” Markwood said.

Everyone seems to be looking for one thing—Crown Royal Peach.

Markwood said, “We order up to 10 cases a week. We only get it once every three months. The state is allocating it to certain stores at certain times. The most we get is five cases. It’s gone in three days. It’s very popular. A lot of people mix it with sweet tea.”

Finding a niche menu item like pepperoni rolls is the brass ring for a c-store, and Mt. Top Convenience grabbed that ring. When stellar customer service is also added, a c-store becomes unstoppable. Markwood said, “We are passionate about our business and strive to provide the best service to our customers who we greatly appreciate.”

Al Hebert is the Gas Station Gourmet, showcasing America’s hidden culinary treasures. Find him at www.GasStationGourmet.com.

NACS APRIL 2022 75

CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PACKAGED ICE CREAM/FROZEN NOVELTIES

Prepare Now for Ice Cream Season Frozen treats sell well, so keep that trend going.

Bars are the preferred format (52.3%), followed by sandwiches, cones and cups at 20.2%, 15.7% and 5%, respectively.”

76 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Kuzmik_A/Getty Images

BY PAT PAPE

JUST THE FACTS The packaged ice cream/ frozen novelties category averaged margins of 45.97% and accounted for an average of $11,967 gross profit dollars in 2020, up 20.2% from 2019.

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

I

t’s a scientific fact. If you want happy customers, have plenty of ice cream on hand.

Research has found that noshing on ice cream activates the “happy zones” in the human brain. During a study sponsored by Unilever, maker of several ice cream brands, neuroscientists at London’s Institute of Psychiatry scanned the brains of people eating vanilla ice cream. They discovered that swallowing the frozen treat had an immediate effect on areas of the brain that indicate happiness.

A less scientific example of this phenomena was the 2020 pandemic. When people were forced to change their familiar routines and isolate themselves to avoid contracting COVID-19, c-store ice cream sales soared. That trend continued—to a lesser extent—into 2021.

“The ice cream category saw huge gains in 2020, up by double digits in both sales and gross profit per store annually,” said Jayme Gough, research manager, NACS. “Ice cream sales were 0.89% of all in-store sales, which was up 0.15 points from 2019. The total category brought in $26,033 sales per store in 2020, a huge increase of 21.4% year over year. Plus, the category averaged margins of 45.97% and accounted for an average of $11,967 gross profit dollars in 2020, an increase of 20.2% from 2019.”

Expect to see more consumers reaching for frozen treats in coming months, according to Zach Waite, director of strategic growth, Hershey’s Ice Cream.

“Consumers have been eating at home

a lot over the last two years,” he said.

“I believe a shift back to more eating out and [selecting] items that are easy to eat on the go will be strong for the foreseeable future.”

HEALTHY OR INDULGENT? When pollsters ask, consumers say they want healthier versions of their favorite foods. But “generally, indulgence wins when it comes to ice cream, with 75% of packaged ice cream and 62% of frozen novelties being indulgent offerings,” said Patricia Biswas, ALT channel marketing manager at Wells Enterprises, maker of Halo Top, Blue Bunny and other brands. “That’s not to say that there isn’t a focus on balanced indulgence.

“Health and wellness continue to hold an elevated status in our post-pandemic environment, which is why there are several new products in the market to align with consumers’ holistic approach to overall wellness,” she said. “Halo Top is the leading better-for-you ice cream brand, and Wells is evolving its selection to fit consumers’ wellness journey.

We’ve expanded our low-calorie, high-protein pint portfolio to include nondairy, keto pints and bars, fruit bars and our new sorbet pints.”

Thanks to Unilever’s diverse portfolio of ice cream products, “we offer something for everyone to feel satisfied,” said Jena Sussman, senior manager of public relations at Unilever. “For those with dietary restrictions, this indulgence can be the better-for-you versions with low or no sugar or carbs, as well as our nondairy alternative and plant-based options.”

New frozen offerings—both indulgent and healthier versions—continue to appear in stores. Morgan Abraham, an electric engineer, was working to develop a unique smoothie machine for commercial use when a serendipitous encounter connected him with Pascal Kriesche, a mechanical engineer who was attempting the same thing. They

Industry Sales % of In-Store Sales

0.74% 0.89% 2019

2020

Avg. Sales/Store

$21,443 $26,033 2019

2020

% of Stores Selling

93.0% 98.9% 2019

2020

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

NACS APRIL 2022 77

CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PACKAGED ICE CREAM/FROZEN NOVELTIES

Per Store, Per Month Sales

n 2018

n 2019

$3,500

n 2020

n 2021

$2,969

$3,000

$2,500

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000 JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Source: CSX LLC; csxllc.com

CSX, the engine behind category metrics and NACS State of the Industry data, provides current and customizable tools for financial and operational reporting and analysis in the convenience industry. Retailers can measure their company by any of the myriad metrics generated via our live database.

Contact Chris Rapanick at (703) 518–4253 or crapanick@convenience.org for a complimentary executive walkthrough.

combined talents, and the result is the smoodi, a wireless blender-plus-freezer combo that delivers healthy, fresh-fruit beverages at the push of a button.

Pre-packaged smoodi cups of flash-frozen fruits—strawberries, raspberries, bananas and more—are

stored in the freezer. A customer selects a cup and puts it in the machine for about one minute. The result is a better-for-you treat made without purees, concentrates or added sugars, Abraham said.

“We get a great milkshake consistency, and each smoodi is under 100 calories,” he said. “Plus, everything is transparent. The machine is self-contained, self-cleaning and sanitizes on a daily schedule. The cup can be recycled, and the straw is biodegradable. We want every smoodi to be an amazing experience,” Abraham added.

“We want it to touch all five senses.”

Because it operates using Wi-Fi, the machine collects information about equipment use and alerts store staffers in case of an issue. Currently, Quality Oil of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is offering smoodis in its Quality Mart convenience chain.

PREPARE FOR THE SEASON April through October are the busiest months for c-store ice cream sales. “The key to success is getting new items on the shelf before the season starts,” said

78 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

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CATEGORY CLOSE-UP PACKAGED ICE CREAM/FROZEN NOVELTIES

Subcategory Data Percent of Sales Ice Cream/Novelties

Avg. Sales/Store

Avg. GP$/Store

Gross Margin %

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

Premium Ice Cream

58.6%

52.9%

$12,562

$13,781

$5,839

$6,650

46.48%

48.25%

Frozen Novelties

29.5%

32.9%

$6,332

$8,572

$3,215

$4,474

50.77%

52.19%

Ice Cream

10.2%

12.5%

$2,194

$3,258

$778

$1,344

35.45%

41.26%

1.7%

1.6%

$355

$421

$122

$146

34.25%

34.68%

100.0%

100.0%

$21,443

$26,033

$9,953

$11,967

46.42%

45.97%

Frozen Yogurt/ Sherbet/Sorbet Total

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

offering scoop ice cream, making fresh milkshakes and creating a consumer experience that makes your store stand out and gives consumers a strong reason to return.”

Don’t hesitate to promote ice cream offerings with exterior store signage urging customers to come inside, Sussman advised.

“Make sure ice cream is visible in-store. Merchandise it close to other sweets, as close to checkout as possible, and have at least one stand-up freezer dedicated to ice cream,” she said. “For frozen novelty items—ice cream bars, sandwiches, cones and cups—try placing a frozen bunker case near the front of the store and near checkout to encourage those impulse purchases.”

Sussman added, “And choose the key national brands and their top-selling flavors, especially if you have a limited assortment. People are consistently purchasing the products they know and love, but we also see them buying new flavors and formats that pique their interest, capture their attention, and surprise and excite them.”

Pat Pape worked in the convenience store industry for more than 20 years before becoming a full-time writer. See more of her articles at patpape.wordpress.com.

80 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

unpict/Getty Images

When people were forced to change their familiar routines and isolate themselves to avoid contracting COVID-19, c-store ice cream sales soared.”

Biswas. “Operators could lose up to 40% of their volume if frozen treats aren’t on the shelf before April.”

Stores should stay well stocked in the items customers want most. “At c-stores, 96.3% of ice cream purchases are single-serve novelties,” Biswas said.

“Bars are the preferred format (52.3%), followed by sandwiches, cones and cups at 20.2%, 15.7% and 5%, respectively. In terms of packaged offerings, it’s a pint-driven business with 55.1% share versus scrounds at 21.3%. Having the right assortment of frozen novelties is important to bring variety and value to everyone.”

Because ice cream is usually an impulse item, “put the freezer near the register, and keep it stocked with the fastest moving items. And control retail prices to keep the volume going,” said Waite. “If you’re doing food beyond pre-packaged items, Hershey’s suggests

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CATEGORY CLOSE-UP ALTERNATIVE SNACKS

Out of the Ordinary Alternative snacks provide a taste of the unusual.

BY SARAH HAMAKER

82 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

Inna Tarasenko/Getty Images

F

rom puffed veggies to spicy meat sticks, consumers are loving their alternative snacks at convenience stores. “In 2021, the category exceeded all prior years in sales and showed really strong sales in nearly every month,” said Jayme Gough, research manager, NACS. “This category is a staple for travelers looking for a savory treat, a morning commuter purchasing a snack for later or a dried-meat enthusiast. As more people get back on the roads and start to go back into the office, this category is ripe with opportunity.”

Dan DeMeyer, director, sales strategy, Kellogg Company, agreed. “As more consumers return to traveling, using health clubs and working from their offices, interest in on-the-go consumption has increased, benefiting the alternative snacks category,” he said.

vovashevchuk/Getty Images; LauriPatterson/Getty Images

SALES SOAR The alternative snacks category with its four subcategories has a small in-store slice of sales, but it is a powerful one with continued growth potential. “The alternative snacks category has certainly been embraced by our customer base at Roaster’s Market, and we don’t see any signs of that changing,” said Caroline Miles, marketing coordinator, Lawson Holdings LLC, owner of Roaster’s Market in Ada, Oklahoma.

Although category sales declined during the first part of 2020, they rebounded later in 2020 and surged in 2021. “The No. 1 sales contributor to the category in 2020 was the other alternative snacks subcategory at 40% of the sales, according to the NACS State of the Industry (SOI) Report of 2020 Data,” Gough said. “This tracks with trends toward puffed vegetables and dried fruits.”

The second sales contributor was the meat snacks subcategory with 36.2% of the category sales, according to 2020 NACS SOI data. “Meat snacks have been a reliable source of revenue for the category for years, and even more interesting flavors and sizes continue to evolve the category,” Gough said. Meat snacks continued to gobble up sales

JUST THE FACTS Average annual sales per store of alternative snacks rose 3% to $56,196 in 2020.

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

throughout 2021, too. “This subcategory saw increased monthly sales in every month of 2021 over 2020 and 2019,” Gough said. “That helped to push the overall growth of the alternative snacks category to higher sales each month of 2021 over the previous two years.”

(Year-end sales data for 2021 will be presented this month at the NACS SOI Summit.)

Sales at Hormel Foods supported that assessment. “We saw positive trends coming from the alternative snacks category throughout 2021, and we are looking at 2022 to be another positive year in the convenience channel,” said Tim Bortner, Planters brand manager, foodservice, at Hormel Foods.

Other subcategories in alternative snacks posted positive numbers, such as health/energy bars. “Despite starting off slower in 2021 than other categories, by March, monthly sales of health/energy bars were above that of the previous two years,” Gough said.

“Many alternative snacks are growing double digits as shoppers seek better-for-you snacks while still satisfying their need for sweet and salty flavors,” said Lance Smith, vice president, industry affairs and consumer strategy, PIM Brands Inc. “Fruit snacks, meat snacks, nuts, bars and cheese sticks all grew in the last year.”

TRENDY INNOVATIONS Alternative snacks category innovations drive higher sales. For instance, new ingredients replacing traditional ingredients in category products include swapping corn and potatoes with beets, sweet potatoes, peas, beans and

Industry Sales % of In-Store Sales

1.95% 1.81% 2019

2020

Avg. Sales/Store

$54,563 $56,196 2019

2020

% of Stores Selling

99.5% 99.0% 2019

2020

Source: NACS State of the Industry Report of 2020 Data

NACS APRIL 2022 83

CATEGORY CLOSE-UP ALTERNATIVE SNACKS Per Store, Per Month Sales

n 2018

n 2019

$3,500

n 2020

n 2021

$2,973

$3,000

$2,500

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000 JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Source: CSX LLC; csxllc.com

84 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

York City stores. For example, alternative snacks products are incorporating ingredients from different cultures and countries, such as cactus, black gram and banana flour. “We see these ingredients popping up in more U.S. products these days,” she said. “About 80% of the store are new brands.”

Spencer Fivelson, vice president/ general manager, snacks, Conagra Brands, said, “Consumers are also focused on premium ingredients and flavors” and are “looking for exciting, dynamic flavors. The challenge is to deliver flavors that are bold yet broad in their appeal.” In addition to expanding its flavor profiles in the category, Conagra has adjusted packaging, creating both larger sizes and a more compact size in its two meat stick lines.

CATCHING INTEREST These retailers and suppliers view alternative snacks as the perfect option for a wide variety of snacking occasions.

“Given alternative snacks’ healthier halo, these are more likely to be consumed during the morning or afternoon snacking occasions,” said Smith.

“Alternative snacks also can act as a

Gordo25/Getty Images

Many alternative snacks are growing double digits as shoppers seek better-for-you snacks while still satisfying their need for sweet and salty flavors.”

Brussel sprouts. “The category also benefited from a trend toward foods that make you feel good, and eating whole foods,” Gough said.

Alternative snacks growing in popularity include dry fruit snacks, low-cal and plant-based snack bars, high-protein meat- or plant-based snacks, and dried fruit. “Also, salty alternative snacks, like veggie chips and straws, kale chips and seaweed chips have shown good growth, while nuts and trail mix continue to be popular among health-conscious shoppers,” Smith said.

At Roaster’s Market, “people are most certainly looking for organic products with fewer preservatives,” Miles said.

“Rather than wanting a sweet, they want a boost—something that’s going to add to their energy, not their weight.”

Nearly everything in The Goods Mart could be considered an alternative snack. “We curate tried and true brands in the category as well as bring in new brands for discovery,” Rachel Krupa, owner of the two New

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CATEGORY CLOSE-UP ALTERNATIVE SNACKS

Subcategory Data Percent of Sales Alternative Snacks

Avg. Sales/Store

Avg. GP$/Store

Gross Margin %

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

Other Alternative Snacks

52.6%

40.0%

$28,723

$19,972

$12,954

$9,780

45.10%

48.97%

Meat Snacks

34.6%

36.2%

$18,883

$18,108

$9,381

$9,411

49.68%

51.97%

Granola/Fruit Snacks

3.0%

19.2%

$1,613

$9,602

$873

$5,530

54.10%

57.60%

Health/Energy/ Protein Bars

9.8%

4.6%

$5,343

$2,284

$2,644

$1,131

49.49%

49.52%

Total

100%

100%

$54,563

$56,196

$25,846

$25,844

47.37%

45.99%

Source: CSX LLC; csxllc.com

86 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

doesn’t have to be high calorie—fast can be good for you and affordable.”

The Goods Mart’s constantly rotating stock promotes trial and discovery among its shoppers. “We bring in new products every two weeks or so,” Krupa said. “This encourages our customers to stop by often to see what’s new.”

ALTERNATIVE FUTURE The future for alternative snacks at convenience stores will continue to brighten. “Alternative snacks weren’t the No. 1 sales driver for us, but it sure rivaled the top,” said Miles with Roaster’s Market. “Alternative snacks can satisfy that little bit of hunger between meals and not make the consumer feel guilty about it.”

Added Krupa, “I think the snack marketplace is exploding faster and larger than ever before. There are so many interesting and cool brands hitting the alternative snack marketplace—that’s only going to continue as new ingredients and flavors are introduced in the category and move into the mainstream.”

Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer and NACS Magazine contributor based in Fairfax, Virginia.

Visit her online at sarahhamakerfiction.com.

draganadutina/Getty Images

Using in-store media and promotional tactics to nudge and remind shoppers are effective to pushing alternative snacks sales.”

meal replacement because they tend to be rich in more whole ingredients and higher in protein,” DeMeyer added. “Because alternative snacks offer a variety of sweet (dried fruit, granola) and savory (beef jerky, dried vegetable) options, consumers can easily fulfill snacking occasions depending on their cravings.”

DeMeyer recommended retailers use both permanent and temporary displays of alternative snacks to drive trial.

“Counter units could be placed near hot beverages to incentivize hot beverage purchases along with an alternative snack,” he said.

“Using in-store media and promotional tactics to nudge and remind shoppers about the available options during their stop are effective to pushing alternative snacks sales,” said Bortner. “Alternative snacks play across all snacking occasions and dayparts, so it’s important to emphasize and promote offerings that provide both a satiating boost and a true snack.”

Roaster’s Market is “always trying to promote interest in alternative snacks,” Miles said. “When we run promotions, we try to incorporate a nutritious element. Generally speaking, it’s our goal to retrain our customers to buy into the notion that fast

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PIM Brands Inc. ............................................................................55 (800) 369-7391 www.pimbrands.com Premier Manufacturing Inc. .............................................................5 & 37 www.gopremier.com

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Cool New Products Guide...................................................................70-72 www.convenience.org/Media/NACS-Magazine/Cool-New-Products

Mars Wrigley................................................................................ 69 www.mars.com NACS Show................................................................................................79 www.nacsshow.com OPIS/ IHS Markit........................................................................... 81 www.opisnet.com

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BY THE NUMBERS

Fewer Trips, Bigger Baskets The COVID-19 pandemic upended nearly everything about retail, including consumer trips to c-stores. Yet, the convenience channel was already experiencing a concerning decline in transaction counts inside the store even before March 2020. In fact, every year since the report of 2016 data, the NACS State of the Industry Report has revealed at least a marginal decline in inside transaction counts.

According to the NACS CSX database, 2021 was the first year that inside transaction counts showed year-over-year growth, an expected result when compared with a very low base in 2020. While analysts

shouldn’t ignore this outlier year, comparing 2021 data to 2019 data is more valid.

The CSX data indicate that in 2021, inside transaction counts only approached their corresponding months in October and November of 2019. While that result still should concern retailers, the data also reveal the positive side of this transaction decline: larger baskets. In 2020, COVID-19 delivered the convenience channel larger basket sizes due to shoppers consolidating trips and stocking their pantries. In 2021, retailers have continued to see baskets on par with 2020—and considerably larger than those of 2019.

Inside Transactions

n 2019

n 2020

n 2021

30,000

25,000

20,000 JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

Basket Size

OCT

n 2019

NOV

n 2020

DEC

n 2021

$8.00

$7.00

$5.00 JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

Published every year since 1972, the NACS State of the Industry Report is the convenience and fuel retailing industry’s premier benchmarking tool and the most comprehensive collection of data and trends. Retailers rely on the report to improve their operations and better understand what’s driving key performance metrics. Explore package options for purchase at www.convenience.org/SOI. 88 APRIL 2022 convenience.org

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