This year’s NACS Show was all about coming together after a time of significant retail disruption. An impressive lineup of keynote presenters including NACS leaders, motivational speakers and a philanthropic-minded businessman took the main stage to inspire, challenge and transform the audience. Setting the tone for the NACS Show and delving into various aspects of the event theme “We Got This,” the general session presenters focused on the themes of reconnecting, resiliency and defining and innovating the industry’s future.

Jennifer Powers

Motivational speaker Jennifer Powers, author of the best-selling book Oh, shift!, brought her boundless energy to the NACS Show opening general session on day one, which celebrated the joy of being back together and working together to overcome obstacles. Her high-energy, positive message reinforced that despite all the challenges, “We Got This!”

With audience participation, Powers explored the power of her infamous “shift,” or the action we can choose to take to help us see situations in a positive light rather than a negative one. Coming on the heels of 2020 and the havoc wreaked by the global pandemic, Powers demonstrated that this shift in thinking can start with the little things.

Instead of reacting to a situation by deeming someone a complete jerk, for example, Powers’ shift would help you to pivot to remembering how, normally, that individual is a good person. Rather than stressing about feeling stuck—in your career, relationship, etc.—consider that maybe you’re right where you’re supposed to be at this moment in time. It’s all about the way you frame it.

Ask yourself good questions about what opportunity this change offers you and your business.

COVID-19 isn’t the only factor that’s shaken things up recently, although Powers noted that she herself had to shift 90% of her business when in-person motivational speeches and training were no longer an option. C-store owners, in particular, are faced with their own pressures: to offer healthier foods, reduce tobacco sales and accommodate EVs with charging stations—and all sooner rather than later. These transitions will not be easy, but Powers recommends remembering that you’re in control, and that there is power in the shift.

“The first and most important thing to do is to ask yourself good questions about what opportunity this change offers you and your business,” Powers told NACS Magazine earlier this year. In other words, consider the opportunity rather than the barriers you might face in achieving the change. “You can choose to use anything—or not. That’s how much power you have. It’s your life experience.”

Rachel Krupa

Lonnie McQuirter

Don Rhoads

Day two’s general session featured a panel discussion with NACS President and CEO Henry Armour and three retailers who epitomize what it meant to be essential and resilient during a tumultuous 2020. They turned around that adversity to help their employees, their businesses and, most importantly, their communities.

The first recorded case of COVID-19 in the United States happened in the Pacific Northwest in January 2020, and Don Rhoads, owner of the Convenience Group—which owns half a dozen Minit Mart stores in Vancouver, Washington, said that by March it was clear that things had changed. “March was our busy month for the year,” he said. “You could tell something was different. You could tell we were in some uncharted waters.”

That was also the time when Rachel Krupa, founder of The Goods Mart in New York City, found herself faced with a decision. “It was March 13 when everything shut down,” she said. “So, we [were wondering], should we close because it’s not safe? How do I help my team and keep them safe? And how do we serve our community? We called the state, and they said you have to stay open because you are an essential business, and we need your help no
matter what. And at that point it was full speed ahead.”

Rhoads and Krupa launched efforts in their respective communities. For Krupa, it was street-side cookouts, snack boxes that were sent out nationwide and a program called Taste and Tell that highlighted five brands in the store each month with a QR code leading to a customer survey for those brands. For Rhoads, it was raising money and supplies for the Clark County Food Bank that culminated in a drive-through event that served 250 cars in 55 minutes.

We had to make sure we knew what was most important—our staff, our customers and also the community that we serve.

For Lonnie McQuirter, director of operations for 36 Lyn Refuel Station in Minneapolis, 2020 saw not only the pandemic but something that hit much closer to home. George Floyd was killed blocks away from McQuirter’s store, which suffered break-ins and damage during the protests that followed.

“We had to adapt quickly to that,” he said. “We had to make sure we knew what was most important—our staff, our customers and also the community that we serve.”

McQuirter said that his store not only had to respond to that but, like everyone else, he had to figure out how to respond to the needs of the community during the pandemic as well. “We sell cokes and smokes, and people needed that,” he said. “But beyond that, people needed that sense of community. There was really that search for meaning from people and that sense of belonging. How do we make people feel OK and feel safe? What do the customers really need?”

Kendal Netmaker

Kendal Netmaker has made a career out of turning adversity into advantages.

Netmaker, the founder of Neechie Gear, a lifestyle apparel brand that gives a percentage of its profits to underprivileged youth to encourage them to take part in sports, grew up on a reservation as part of Canada’s Sweetgrass First Nation. He challenged the crowd to take a different perspective when it comes to their problems. “When a problem comes into your life, look at it in a different way,” he said. “What is this trying to teach me right now?”

Netmaker told stories of his mother and his grandmother and of growing up with little money on the reservation. His grandmother, he said, taught him how to approach people in a new way, including the customers who come to his stores. “We can’t always control the people that come and support us and why things happen,” he said. “But what we can control is what goes on [in our minds] and how we view the world.”

Netmaker said things that get in the way of our plans can often lead to better opportunities. “Here’s the true reality about when we make goals: Sometimes the universe has other plans,” he said. “Maybe that decision you made, if you give it 110%, will open up the next door that’s meant for you.”

Henry Armour

Jared Scheeler

Kevin Smartt

At day three’s general session, “Reinventing Convenience and Reimagining Our Future,” NACS President and CEO Henry Armour led a spirited panel discussion featuring 2020-21 NACS Chairman Kevin Smartt and 2021-22 Chairman Jared Scheeler to talk about the future of convenience, focusing on three areas: last-mile solutions, the future of energy and age verification.

Both Scheeler and Smartt agreed that delivery apps are the wave of the future, but c-stores need to take ownership of that and get ahead of the curve. Scheeler, CEO of The Hub Convenience Stores, said branding will be key to that. “With so many orders online, I want people to say, ‘I ordered from The Hub,’” he said. “But today they are saying, ‘I ordered from DoorDash,’ and we need to change that.”

Maybe that decision you made, if you give it 110%, will open up the next door that’s meant for you.

Smartt wholeheartedly agreed, adding that the convenience industry needs to act now to protect its data from those companies. “I think the most important point for the industry is we do not want DoorDash and those third-party companies owning our data,” he said. “And we need to come together as an industry and get it in our contracts that we own the data, not them.”

One area where the industry is already coming together is age verification. Armour said NACS has worked over the past two years to create a new solution to age verification in the form of TruAge^TM, a digital age-verification system that confirms a customer’s age at every point of sale while keeping personal data private.

In fact, Armour had some breaking news to announce on that front: In addition to Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch, Altria Group Distribution Company—the largest tobacco company in the country—is now a TruAge™ sponsor. Armour said that with more states requiring retailers to use age-verification systems—Nevada and North Carolina will require it by the end of next year—NACS is looking forward to welcoming additional sponsors.

There are enough things that happen on a daily basis that keep us up at night. Age verification should not be one of them.

With 90% of consumers supporting a nationwide standard for age verification, Scheeler said the time is now for retailers to get on board. “There are enough things that happen on a daily basis that keep us up at night,” he said. “Age verification should not be one of them.”

The final area c-stores need to be keyed into is the future of energy, including the opportunities surrounding electric vehicles. Scheeler said that for his stores, which are mostly in rural areas, it’s not a high priority right now, but he is watching it. Smartt, whose TXB (Texas Born) stores can be found primarily in Austin, Texas, said c-stores need to get in now before someone else controls the market.

“We want to sell our customers what they want to buy,” he said. “Now is the time to be fighting for a level playing field because we don’t want to be doing it five years from now when the public utility companies own it.”

Henry Armour

“Over the past few days we have celebrated our resilience, our role as essential businesses,” said Armour on the last day of the Show, “and we’ve examined the issues and trends that will impact our future. But what I’ve enjoyed the most is that we’re finally back together—in-person—here, at the NACS Show!”

From the stage, Armour announced that Juul Labs has joined as a new sponsor of TruAge^TM, the new digital solution that enhances current age-verification systems and protects
user privacy.

As convenience evolves “to be an outcome—or state of mind—not just a physical location,” Armour also shared news about a new NACS initiative regarding digital search: Project Search. (For more on Project Search, see page 46 in this issue.)

“NACS sees the evolution of digital in our industry as a critical catalyst for the future of winning trips and building bigger baskets,” he said. “So, we’ve embarked on an initiative, named ‘Project Search.’”

The aim is to leverage the scale of NACS to help retailer members “define your offer in the digital space.” Armour invited retailers to sign on to the project. “This takes your offer beyond your brand—it tells consumers about the products and services you have in your stores to meet their needs right now.”

What I’ve enjoyed the most is that we’re finally back together—in-person—here, at the NACS Show!

Armour also highlighted innovation happening in international markets. In Asia, the convenience store chain Fook has redefined the entire store experience, using screens and mobile phones to create a hub for customers—increasing both sales and community engagement,” Armour said. Fook also won the 2021 NACS Asian “Best of the Best” Store Award announced at the NACS Convenience Summit Asia in August. The Coca-Cola Company sponsored the award.

And in Europe, innovation centers around the shopping experience. Armour introduced a video showcasing how Migrolino in Switzerland is redefining cashier-less checkout. (Migrolino was featured in the 2018 Ideas 2 Go series.)

The final general session also included the debut of the 2021 edition of the NACS Ideas 2 Go program, featuring five companies that are redefining convenience around energy, foodservice, community and culture: The Market by Tiger Fuel Co. (Charlottesville, Virginia); Wawa (Wawa, Pennsylvania); the PRIDE Stores’ 93 Octane Brewery (Chicago); 7-Eleven’s Evolution Store (Dallas); and Weigel’s (Powell, Tennessee).

Each episode will roll out at www.convenience.org/ideas2go beginning January 2022, accompanied by a live webinar and a podcast.