Lauren Shanesy

1 month ago | nacsmagazine.com | Lauren Shanesy

The customer is the core of the convenience business. With so much data available about who the shopper is, retailers that capture the data, analyze it to create useful information and operationalize the insights gained from the information can drive sales, loyalty and profit—and, critically, differentiate themselves from competition by creating a better customer experience.

1 month ago | nacsmagazine.com | Lauren Shanesy

Last summer, cybersecurity company CrowdStrike’s infamous IT outage disrupted businesses across the globe. Circle K lost payment capabilities in its stores for 12 hours, said Ed Dzadovsky, global CTO & EVP, Alimentation Couche-Tard, while speaking at the 2025 Conexxus Annual Conference in January. “We lost millions and millions of dollars that day. And that’s just what we know we lost in that time.

1 month ago | nacsmagazine.com | Lauren Shanesy

AI is being called many things—a revolution, a fleeting moment or a gamechanger, depending on who you ask. “I think a lot of people are in denial that AI is not here to stay and that it’s a fad. But people said the same thing about the internet, too,” said Babir Sultan, owner of Fav Trip, a chain of five stores in Missouri.

2 months ago | nacsmagazine.com | Lauren Shanesy

There’s an oft spoken mantra at NACS when it comes to advocacy: “If you’re not at the dinner table, then you’re on the menu.” “If you’re not engaged, understand that there are other groups that are advocating for something that will negatively impact your business,” said Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer at Casey’s General Stores.

2 months ago | convenience.org | Lauren Shanesy

By Lauren Shanesy Launching new tech at your store can be time consuming and costly if done ineffectively. At the 2025 Conexxus Annual Conference this week in Tucson, Arizona, retailers took the stage during the session “Think Tank Panel: Realities from Top C-Store Leaders” to discuss how they’re evaluating and implementing new technologies.