When the NACS Show descended on Chicago this October, it once again proved why it remains the premier gathering for the convenience and fuel retail industry. Kudos to NACS for staging such an excellent, expansive event — from education sessions to the expo floor, the energy was palpable, the deals were flowing, and new ideas were everywhere.
As always, the show reinforced some of the unchanging truths I’ve written about over the last 15 years in the c-store channel: you can have great hot food, vibrant beverage lines, or dazzling tech — but if your service delivery, forecourt and restroom cleanliness, and systemwide consistency fail, you lose the battle. One bad customer experience taints the entire channel’s reputation. Unlike QSRs, where a brand might be judged on one location’s experience, convenience retail is vulnerable — if one store in a neighborhood looks sketchy, a first-time guest blames all c-stores.
Here are my top five observations from NACS this year:
1. Foodservice + Beverages remain the engine, but the margin is execution.
The spectacle was huge around prepared foods, specialty pizza lines, and beverage innovation. Show floor names like Rich Products Pizza, AK Pizza, Hunt Brothers, General Mills, CJ Schwan’s, Muffin Town, and Smucker’s were very visible. But it’s not enough to launch new SKUs — the operators who will win are those who execute — ensure freshness, speed, consistency, and staffing.
2. Beverage explosion — protein, probiotics, functional drinks.
Beverage innovation was perhaps the most electric corner of the show. Standouts included Genius sparkling protein, Nurri 30 g ultra-filtered milk shakes, Lotus PlantPop, Ryde functional, Jubi, Suja Life – Slice, Rav GLP-1/metabolic, How hyperpure oxygenated water, Lucky energy, Throne sport coffee, and Tru with kratom — all jockeying for aisle and dispenser space. Energy and CBD weren’t absent, but they felt more niche than front-and-center.
3. Technology and AI are no longer optional — they’re table stakes.
Expo booths for Modisoft, Ignite Retail Technology, Diebold Nixdorf, Instore.ai, and Verifone underscored that the back end of convenience is undergoing a transformation. AI-led inventory, camera analytics to monitor forecourts and food prep, voice analytics at the point of sale, predictive ordering — these aren’t future dreams but active deployments.
4. The brand and channel vulnerability is ever present.
As I walked the aisles, I kept coming back to the idea that convenience retail lives or dies by consistency. One store might look bright and modern; another a block away dark and uncared-for. A guest’s first impression matters — and in this channel, that impression often gets projected onto the entire concept.
5. Loyalty, retention, and daypart strategies are becoming more sophisticated.
Several educational sessions tackled how to leverage first-party data, transform loyalty programs beyond discounts, and optimize evening or off-peak dayparts. With foot traffic pressures and squeezed margins, turning each visit into deeper engagement is now table stakes.
In sum, the NACS Show in Chicago delivered exactly what a leading industry show should — a collision of new product ideas, operational thinking, networking, and strategic direction. The Convenience Store channel emerges stronger when we convene, compare notes, and push each other forward.
Of course, I’ll continue covering the c-store world through the Convenience Store channel, bringing the on-the-ground stories, lessons, and vendors you need to watch. And to NACS: thank you for putting on another stellar show.
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