Twice a week, Steve Raney hops into his car and drives a 190-mile circuit around the Chicago market, beginning in northeast Illinois, traveling to the western suburbs of the city and up into southern Wisconsin. His passengers on the trip: hundreds of Canadian nightcrawlers, giant redworms and minnows.

For nearly 25 years, Raney, owner of Trading Post Vending, Woodstock, Illinois, has attended to live bait vending machines stationed at convenience stores, liquor stores and forest preserve properties across the two states. His journey to this line of work suggests a unique relationship with retailing and the role of direct-store supplier.

I always say, ‘we’ve got some prime real estate so why not use it?”

“I always wanted to do two things when I was younger: I wanted to build my own house, and I wanted to own a bait-and-tackle store,” Raney said. “I built the house, and then I opened the bait-and-tackle store in Harvard, Illinois. It was then that I ran into one of these [bait vending] machines ... and I could see the advantages of it real quick.” Raney acquired a vending machine for his store, working with the manufacturer—Automated Merchandising Systems Inc., Kearneysville, West Virginia—to create a machine that fit his specific needs.

“Bait-and-tackle stores were becoming a thing of the past. It was very difficult to make a living off the store that we opened, and the machine opened up so many other possibilities: multiple locations, no common-area maintenance fees and so on,” he said.

Having weaned himself of several ancillary businesses as the years piled up, Raney currently services 15 sites in Illinois and Wisconsin, managing just one aspect of what for some convenience retailers is a lowkey but profitable niche: exterior merchandising.

A Store’s Front Porch

KornerStores convenience stores sell “a little bit of everything” on the forecourt, according to Derek Medved, owner of the Duluth, Minnesota-based chain of 15 c-stores in prime fishing destinations across Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin: “firewood, window wash, road salt, mulch, dirt.”

Operating in communities where residents embrace the great outdoors, KornerStore has found the forecourt a prime spot to show customers that it understands their needs and, in the process, build the sales basket.

“We’re around some lakes and some cabins, so we’ve [sold] kayaks at the pumps,” he said. And as this spring nears, Medved is considering a new opportunity: selling lawnmowers on the forecourt. “We’re looking at partnering with one of the local dealers and giving them some exposure out there. I always say, ‘we’ve got some prime real estate, so why not use it?”

As to bait, Medved prefers to merchandise his nightcrawlers and other wiggly options indoors.

“We sell significant amounts of bait, but we believe that customer service is the top priority. So we want customers to come in the store, have that interaction,” he said. “Come on in and get a pop!”

Similarly, Synergy Cooperative sells live bait in seven of its 17 Cenex-partnered convenience stores in northwest Wisconsin.

“Most of those also have bait tanks with minnows, suckers and so on for fishing,” said Sean Rooney, category manager. “They all have at least 12 feet of retail space, and some have significantly more. Most of that space consists of terminal (or basic) tackle, which is used year-round, and then others have seasonal tackle that changes from ice fishing season to open-water fishing, and the accessories that go with that.”

“It’s one of those things that helps bring the customer into the store,” said Troy Strand, c-store division manager for Synergy Co-op, “and it supports the local fishermen who live right there.”

Deerfield, Illinois-based Rmarts is more functional about outdoor merchandising, though no less committed to it.

“We always have something [merchandised] outside,” said Ryan Razowsky, president of the 13-store chain. Depending on the season, the company’s forecourts are typically stacked high with windshield wash, road salt, firewood and/or 24-packs of bottled water, as well as bagged ice merchandisers and propane cages.

The selection “will vary based on how much real estate we have in front of the stores, whether it’s open 24 hours or not, [and other] dynamics of the site,” he said. The goal, ultimately, is to drive impulse buying.

Impulsive Behavior

In urban or suburban markets, outdoor merchandising is built on impulse. While pumping fuel or buying a drink can get a customer on the lot, seeing a pallet of window wash or a rack of firewood provides a reminder that the customer is in need of these vehicle or homeowner necessities.

“It’s impulsive for people who are at the pump or walking into the store,” Razowsky said. “A customer sees it and thinks, ‘That reminds me, my wife’s car needs window wash.’”

Conversely, in rural communities, the products on the forecourt can become a destination.

“We’re very selective about what we put at each location,” Medved said. “Every location has a little bit different personality. That’s our goal.”

Which outdoor merchandise fits at a store “largely depends on its location and the outdoor-related activities relevant to your customers,” said Toni Emerson, director merchandising systems for McLane Company, Temple, Texas.

A store near a campground or national park—or even a watering hole known just to locals—can build a reputation as an ideal last stop before reaching the camping location. Get the customer inside to pay for a bundle of firewood, only to be greeted by a display of relevant products.

“Stores near parks and open spaces often see high demand for cookout-related items, such as aluminum foil, lighters, paper plates, bags of ice and charcoal,” Emerson said. “Additionally, items like sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, water, snacks, insect repellent, wet wipes, portable coolers and first aid kits are popular.”

“For winter and other outdoor activities, consider stocking hand warmers, gloves, hats, lip balm, moisturizer, energy bars, flashlights and batteries.”

The products that are outside provide an incentive to a customer to go inside the store, said Nolan Smith, co-owner of DMF Bait Co., Waterford, Michigan.

“The idea is to get the customer to go inside the store,” he said. “[While at the store for bait], they’re going to buy a bag of ice, a couple pops. They’re going to buy their snacks, whatever they’re going to take out onto the water. ... They end up spending an extra $15 on whatever else they’re going to need for their trip.”

Product Closeup: Live Bait

“The old-school bait stores you used to see all over are fading out,” said Nolan Smith, co-owner of DMF Bait Co. “And convenience stores, with long hours, are becoming more of the go-to place to get bait. For the customer, you can come in with your boat, get gassed up, buy three or four cups of worms, along with your snacks and drinks and ice, all in one stop.”

DMF Bait’s program provides a branded refrigerator that goes inside the store. Cups of bait—six common types of worms—can be ordered through familiar distributors, including Core-Mark, H.T. Hackney and Imperial Distributors. Smith also ships direct to more remote stores using FedEx. DMF also provides fishing accessories, telescopic fishing poles and smaller poles for children.

“If you’re selling recreational fuel or other products that are geared toward campers or boats, [bait] helps bring that customer in,” Smith said.

Beer helps, too. “If a store sells alcohol, that is a huge bonus: gas, beer and bait,” said Steve Raney, owner of Trading Post Vending. “You’re trying to create a one-stop opportunity for the customer.” Troy Strand of Synergy Cooperative added, “I joke that for every bucket of minnows that goes out, a 30-pack of Busch Light goes with it.”

Raney’s live-bait program places a bait vending machine outside a store free of charge. He manages the stock, from worms to minnows and fishing-tackle basics. He sets the prices. The customer pays at the machine through a credit card reader.

“It’s a hands-off program. We do everything,” he said. “The store gets 10% of the gross sales, less if any taxes are collected. That makes it real simple for both sides.”

In general, the price for live bait can range from $5 to $9 for 12 to 24 nightcrawlers depending on the vendor.

Taking Stock

Once you’ve decided forecourt merchandising is right for your store, one of the most cited challenges is finding and managing the numerous distributors it can require.

McLane Company can provide many of the most essential outdoor products: propane, firewood, antifreeze, windshield cleaning fluid and road salt. “Our general merchandise includes products that support outdoor adventures and trips,” Emerson said.

At Rmarts, bottled water and bait come through the chain’s primary distributor, Imperial Trading Co./S. Abraham and Sons, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan. Most others, including propane, firewood, windshield wash, road salt and bagged ice, come through direct-store shippers.

“They are coming from different places,” Razowsky said. But once those products are placed on the forecourt, they’re generally low maintenance.

With firewood, for example, “They [Lake Zurich, Illinois-based Snugglewood] deliver it and merchandise it. We’re pretty hands off other than shifting [the wood] around as it starts to sell down,” he said. “For windshield wash, it gets delivered on a pallet, so our team has to break down the pallets, and then we’ll do an inside display in addition to the outside display. We merchandise those, and we shift around the promotional activity based on the time of year.”

Rooney at Synergy Co-op said even managing a single product segment like bait and tackle requires multiple suppliers.

“We have several different suppliers: Robinson Wholesale, Sports Specialist, Big Rock,” he said. “They each have their own specialty, and we try to streamline it to get the best selection for us. Much of it has to do with their ability to work within our Cenex operating systems.”

And to call attention to such products, Emerson recommends “point-of-purchase displays, signage and shelf-toppers in high-traffic areas to promote these items. Additionally, digital promotions, online advertisements and social media campaigns have proven successful in driving sales.”

Because many of the products sold outdoors are subject to seasonality and regionality, keeping a close eye on sales and consumer trends helps a retailer manage the selection, she said.

“Our product offerings are primarily driven by customer demand, so it is crucial for operators to stay updated on changing needs and adapt accordingly,” Emerson said. “We respond promptly to these changes to ensure our distribution centers nationwide have the necessary items in stock.”

Right for You?

One of convenience retailers’ greatest laments is a lack of space. There’s always a desire for more square footage, additional cooler doors and extra space at the front counter.

Using vacant space in front of a store or between fuel pumps opens a whole other merchandising area, as long as it’s not impeding customer traffic. And with their impulsiveness, the products that make sense there—propane, firewood, road salt, windshield wash, etc.—are less price-sensitive and can provide a healthy gross profit margin.

But outdoor merchandising isn’t for everyone. Wade Griffin, retail manager of Southern Valley Travel Center in southeast North Dakota, prefers an unimpeded forecourt. The single-store retailer is located within 20 miles of several campgrounds and just a mile from the trout-rich Red River. The area receives about 30 inches of snow each winter. Still, don’t expect to find firewood, road salt or bait on the forecourt. Griffin limits the product placed out front to ice bins.

“We talked about that when we were building the store: Did we want to have washer fluid or other product out there?” he said. “We decided, out of a desire to help keep product inventory to a minimum, not to do it.”

Whether forecourt products are right for your store depends on your location and understanding your customer. Some items, such as propane and ice, don’t require a fuel island at all; sidewalk space in front of a strip mall may do. But niche items like bait and certainly kayaks require a closer look at your store location and weather trends, said Smith of DMF Bait Co.

“If you are in Texas or Florida, by all means you are pretty much a year-round fishing state,” he said. “We’re located in Michigan. Here, you are primarily talking about April through Oct. 1 [to sell bait]. You’ve got some diehards that will go later into the season looking for specific types of fish up north, but your general weekend warrior is April through Labor Day.”

Raney of Trading Post Vending echoed these thoughts about seasonality, and got even more specific about location.

“[Bait vending] is a real niche market. It doesn’t work everywhere,” he said. “Where [my machines] are, you can throw a stone and hit water. It works very well in that circumstance.”

The choice falls to the retailer. Do your research. Will these products sell here? Do we have access to a reliable supply chain? And what are our priorities as a company? The answers will point the way—possibly outside.

Product Closeup: Propane

Propane tank exchanges accounted for 15.2% of general merchandise sales in convenience stores, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2023 data. Propane merchandising is typically done from a locked cage placed outside a store and managed by a distributor. Completing a sale, however, does require an associate’s attention.

“[A propane] transaction requires the employee to go outside, and that’s really where we focus our training efforts,” said Danny Thurmond, senior director of sales for Blue Rhino, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based company that supplies nearly 30,000 c-store locations across the United States.

“Propane is a hazardous material. It’s prohibited from going inside the store,” Thurmond said. “The consumer needs to make the transaction indoors, then the store associate needs to go outside to complete the transaction. [They need to] make sure the consumer has an empty tank to exchange, if that’s what they told you inside.”

Store associates are asked to conduct a quick inspection of any incoming, 20-pound propane cylinders.

“[The store] is responsible for making sure [tanks are] in acceptable condition and safe for us to take into our supply chain,” Thurmond said, “so there’s training to make sure the tanks we are bringing in are acceptable.”

Canada-based SLEEGERS Engineered Products, meanwhile, is pioneering a self-service kiosk system that takes the store associate out of the equation.

“Our kiosks fully automate the exchange process,” said company president Dan Granger. “Customers simply approach the kiosk, follow the on-screen instructions, and complete their transaction independently. This streamlined process significantly improves efficiency and eliminates the need for site-employee involvement.”

Establishing a propane program is generally low expense and labor. SLEEGERS places one of its kiosks on the c-store property. From there, “The responsibility of sourcing propane falls on the convenience store owner, who leverages their existing relationship with a propane supplier,” Granger said. “Our role is to provide the cutting-edge kiosk technology and ongoing support to ensure seamless operations, enabling store owners to manage propane distribution efficiently within their current supply chain.”

Alternately, Blue Rhino will place a propane cage and supply the tanks free of charge. Retailers are responsible for the cost of the propane itself and have the freedom to establish their own pricing structure—one cost for exchanging a tank (typically about $20-$30) and a second price for buying a prefilled tank without having an exchange ($50-$70).

“Propane is probably one of the highest gross-margin dollar rings a convenience store may offer,” Thurmond said. Sales volume can vary significantly and may be seasonal, but an average store could expect typical gross margin of about $2,500 per year. According to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2023 data, propane exchanges average gross margin percentage at 45.44%. Other seasonal general merchandise averaged at 43.59%.

The impulsiveness of the products make them less price-sensitive. “[Propane] is very much a convenience-driven product,” said Thurmond. “A lot of times, what sparks demand for our product is somebody is grilling out or has a patio with a heater and they unexpectedly run out [of propane]. ‘Oh no, I’ve got to go get a new bottle!’ And few people are Googling ‘best price for propane.’ It’s more likely, ‘Where can I go in the shortest amount of time to exchange an empty tank for a new one?’”