As brands aspire to identify new ways to achieve profitability and drive consumer demand, the lines between convenience stores (c-stores), QSRs and grocery are blurring. The c-store industry has been shaken with eroding margins on fuel, historic labor shortages and a shift to electric vehicles. Leveraging their reputation for speed and convenience, c-stores are expanding their offerings to prepared foods and grocery items to drive growth and reduce reliance on fuel sales.
In just two weeks, stakeholders from the c-store industry will descend on Atlanta for the NACS Show, the ultimate tradeshow for c-store owners, employees, thought leaders, vendors and more who will share insights, concerns, technologies and lessons learned in response to seismic industry shifts. Telaid will be there too, sharing best-of-breed technologies and deployment stories and evaluating new technologies in the expo hall. Based on our current work in the industry and recent attendance at numerous retail technology shows, here are some strategies to help you make the most of your time at the show.
Picture yourself as the hero
Before you set off for NACS, envision yourself as the hero of your organization, returning from the show with clear insights, a vision of the future, and technology options that can help you achieve your business objectives. In many ways, technology deployments today represent uncharted territory. On the positive side, this gives you an opportunity to identify the optimal combination of solutions to accomplish your specific objectives. The downside is that planning is definitely required and you’ll encounter unexpected twists along the way. Go with a mission to unearth solutions that will advance your stores’ ability to deliver.
Take the full tour of retail technologies
The technology solution landscape is still emerging. Don’t stop your exploration with the first technology provider you meet or demo. Meet with several best-of-breed providers. Understand their technologies. Ask the hard questions and discover which ones are willing to partner with others. If you don’t detect a willingness to collaborate with others, do yourself a favor and walk away. The future is about integration.
Identify priority use cases, but be willing to consider new ones
It’s important to prioritize your business objectives when vetting technology solutions. However, when you see the capabilities of AI, computer vision and automation, a surge of new possibilities will likely spring to mind. Once you realize what a technology is capable of, you’ll want to take advantage of it across the store. It’s important to factor in scalability because you’re going to need to prepare infrastructure to handle that growth. The NACS show provides a great opportunity to explore use cases that you may not have considered.
Keep physical security top of mind
There’s no convenience, no customer experience and no profit without physical security. It sounds obvious, but achieving security and safety in retail environments has become increasingly challenging amid a surge in violent crime, organized retail crime and other challenges. Unified physical security is the way forward and all technologies play a role, from video to computer vision, AI and POS. Consider how you can leverage the new technologies you are vetting to achieve greater physical security in your c-store.
Equipped with new information as you return from NACS, you can be the hero in your organization’s story of digital transformation. Arm yourself with some initial ideas by reviewing our infographic, The Intersection of Convenience and Safety. Better yet, let Telaid book you a tour with several best-of-breed partners who provide precisely the kinds of solutions you’re seeking. Just give us 15 minutes between now and the show and we’ll put together a customized tour for you. It’s a great way to make the NACS Show floor more manageable and ensure you make the most of your limited time at the show. Reach out to me via LinkedIn to set up a tour. See you at the show!
