by Danelle Dodds
It’s midnight. And you realize that you need to fill up your tank … literally and figuratively. Nothing short of 42-ounces of caffeine, four candy bars, two bags of Funyuns, a sack of beef jerky, one loaf of bread, one trucker hat, a Pina Colada air freshener and 12-gallons of the finest unleaded will do.
If this were any time before 1927, you might be panicking with each new click of the odometer. But panic doesn’t exist in this day and age because we live in a world of convenience … specifically, convenience stores. And your friendly neighborhood, 24-hour convenience store is ready to welcome you from behind the cool hiss of its automatic doors. There you can load up on all of those things and more.
Gas stations (or filling stations) sprang up in the early days of motoring, but they were nothing like the modern stores of today. Thankfully, 100 years ago a little company called The Southland Ice Company out of Dallas, Texas, realized that there was a market for customers who needed grab-and-go items long after the local grocery stores were closed. Their stores were already open from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week. So, they started stocking staples, changed their name to 7-11 to reflect their hours, and the rest is history.
With now more than 148,000 convenience stores in the United States alone, the need for a community voice became paramount. The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) brought the industry together in 1993 for the first of their one-voice gatherings. Offering a foundation of best practices and product exposure, it created a convenient gathering spot for the industry, not unlike the beneficial convenience stores of today.
Now in its 29th installment, the show returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center on October 1 – 4. In the same way we can thank “Uncle Johnny” Jefferson Green for the first 7-11, we can also tip our hat to Las Vegas for providing us with the first ever 24-hour version of the convenience store in 1962. It makes perfect sense that the buzzing neon, never-stop town is one of the three cities NACS selected as a backdrop for their annual events.
With a rotating city exhibit between Chicago, Las Vegas and Atlanta, the show hasn’t been back to the silver state since 2018 due to pandemic impact. And the city couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome them again.
This year’s event is promising to be one for the books. According to statements on the Convenience Matters podcast from Jeff McQuilkin (NACS director, exhibit sales and services), this year’s expo floor sold out in June 2022, a full four months before their arrival to the city. With over 420,000 square feet of exhibit floor, that timeline is impressive. And it fits their 2022 theme of “Full Speed Ahead” nicely.
Expectations for visitor traffic are more than 23,500 attendees and approximately 1,200 exhibitors. The show will be highlighting the key foundational components of convenience store elements so that nothing is missed:
- Merchandise, Candy & Snacks
- Technology, Facility Development & Store Operations
- Fuel Equipment & Services
- Food Equipment
- Foodservice Programs
Returning to the show floor will be their CNP preview room, which stands for Cool New Products. This area receives a massive amount of attention, as it showcases the newest, must-see items. As a benefit to exhibitors in this area, it opens few hours earlier than the actual show floor. This allows dedicated exposure of these products to their targeted audience – the retailers and convenience distributors.
NACS is known for their spotlighting of the latest and greatest, which is why their New Exhibitor area is also a prime trafficked spot. They are expecting almost 200 first time exhibitors in all five categories, which will also make travelling this area very rewarding for buyers.
In addition to the expo, there is a rich educational line-up planned as well. The programming focuses on several areas, with highlights that illuminate:
- Advocacy: NACS is a strong advocate for the industry, so attendees can anticipate several tracks of programming to focus on governmental issues. Topics like Upcoming Elections and What They Mean for Convenience or the keynote address of, Industry Advocacy and the Future of Mobility, will center around legislation and industry involvement.
- Fuel Awareness: Who isn’t talking about gas these days? Multiple sessions surrounding the topic of fuel will be held. Everything from the State of the Industry: Fuel Edition to 2022 Fuel Retailers of the Year will be covered.
- Foodservice: It wouldn’t be a convenience store show without touching on foodservice. Sessions on global trends in menus to focusing on the changes in dispensed beverages will provide attendees with insight on their tastiest products.
- Small Operator Workshops: In addition to the educational sessions, there are incredible workshops for small operators to allow them to stay competitive in a name brand marketplace.
- Certification: And NACS also will feature their popular certification workshop, which will allow attendees to work toward obtaining their NACS Certified Convenience Advanced Category Management certification (CCACM). This workshop is so popular that – much like the exhibit floor – it reached capacity before the show even opened.
So robust and varied are the offerings for this convention, one could see why it remains a cornerstone in the corner shop marketplace.
NACS 2023 is slated for Atlanta, from October 3 – 6, 2023. With the amount of industry support behind the annual event, it’s easy to see why they are undoubtedly full speed ahead toward the next one.
