America has been a car culture since long before the pandemic, but the past two years have cemented that status. At a time when many consumers couldn’t go into stores and restaurants, they relied on their cars to pick up meals and groceries at unprecedented rates — or used third-party delivery drivers to do it…
The Evolution of Loyalty: Rational vs. Emotional
In 1954, American psychologist James Olds and Canadian neuroscientist Peter Milner conducted an experiment to explore the psychological basis of rewards. They found that it’s not actually the rewards that motivate action, but rather it’s the anticipation of a reward, or the stress of desire that catalyzes action. Since then, as a result of predictability…
What Do Delivery Services Really Deliver?
Should your convenience store embrace third-party, aggregated delivery services? As the pandemic stretches on, it’s time to re-examine the pros, cons, risks and costs. Could the pros of paying others for delivery services, ostensibly justified in net-new incremental sales, be far outweighed by the cons of unknowingly donating your SKU-level sales data to third-party intermediaries…
Snack Sales Heat Up
The snacking consumer returned to c-stores in 2021, driving double-digit sales increases for both salty and meat snacks. Hot and spicy flavor profiles are on fire in the category as supply chain disruption and an inflationary economy failed to douse flavor innovation and optimism for the coming year. “2021 has seen huge growth in center…
Tobacco Braces for 2022
Although 2021 may not have felt “normal” as COVID-19 continued to wreak havoc, key market indicators suggest the tobacco category settled back into more predictive patterns for convenience stores. C-store retailers are looking to tobacco’s Q4 performance and the regulatory landscape for clues on what to expect for tobacco in 2022. Cigarettes Whereas 2020 cigarette…
Street Corner’s Post-Pandemic Reinvention
Street Corner may not be the new kid on the block — it first entered the market in the mid-1980s — but the chain’s reinvention post-pandemic positions it as a cutting-edge, modern c-store business. With a new CEO at the wheel, Street Corner recently debuted a revamped foodservice menu and is aggressively rolling out three…
FDA Director Provides Update on Federal Tobacco Regulations
On Dec. 2, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller presented a live webinar on FDA tobacco regulations. The presentation focused on premarket tobacco applications (PMTA), the new graphic cigarette health warnings and synthetic nicotine products, and gave insights into what might await the category in the new…
Why NAG Is Right for You
I’m sure everyone will join me in saying good riddance to 2021, and let’s hope 2022 brings good health, and personal and professional growth. As we move into a new year, we are working hard on the upcoming National Advisory Group (NAG) conference scheduled for March 27-30 in La Jolla, Calif. Personally, I can’t wait…
The 2022 Social Media Awards
CStore Decisions, for the 10th consecutive year, is recognizing convenience store chains standing out on social media. For the second year running, CStore Decisions partnered with Rival IQ to determine the c-store chains going above and beyond on social media. Rival IQ, which was recently acquired by global consumer and market intelligence company NetBase Quid,…
‘C’ Is for Community: Meeting Shoppers’ Expectations Around Sustainability
For a number of years, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) has argued that the “C” in its name could actually stand for community — and during the COVID-19 pandemic, shoppers seemed to agree. This emphasis on community offers important opportunities and challenges for convenience store operators, especially when it comes to meeting consumer…