This was my first NACS Show. I knew it would be big. Carrie Nesselrode, our Strategic Partnership Manager who works with GoMart, had been before and told us, “It is crazy big,” so I knew what I was in for. Or I thought I did. I was still not prepared for the sensory overload that awaited me.
Picture every soda, energy drink, candy bar, nicotine pouch and roller-grill item in America yelling for your attention simultaneously. Now add DJs and free samples of just about every quick-serve food you can think of. Nobody warns you about the mascots.
The expo hall covered more than 435,000 square feet with over 1,200 exhibitors. That’s about seven and a half football fields of samples, swag and booth staff who really, really want to scan your badge. Carrie, Vas Scouras, our Strategy and Business Development Manager, and I walked through all of it.
Our feet have filed a formal complaint.
The Floor: Yes, It Was a Lot
- Booths with their own zip codes. Some of the big beverage booths were two stories tall. With stairs. When your booth needs stairs, your marketing budget had a good year.
- A DJ in every direction. We perused the latest protein-infused snacks over a steady bass line. By the third DJ, it felt less like a trade show and more like a music festival headlined by a fountain drink.
- Mascots on patrol. Grown professionals lined up for selfies with costumed brand characters. I can now say I have stood next to a life-sized piece of Nerds Candy. Yes, it was awkward.
- The world’s biggest free lunch. If it fit on a roller grill, in a hot case or inside a breakfast biscuit, somebody handed it out. Chicken? Check. Pizza? Check. Meat snacks? Check. Seafood? Wait… what? Yes… seafood. Nobody needed to buy lunch.
- Fully caffeinated by 10 a.m. Energy drinks, cold brew and flavors in colors not found in nature. By mid-afternoon, I was jacked up like a Spider Monkey on Mountain Dew!!
- Protein in everything. C-Store Dive’s reporters spotted protein in nearly every third booth. We can confirm their reporting! Pretzels, popcorn, gummies, even a liquid you stir into drinks. Hydration drinks were everywhere, too. If it could hold protein, someone put protein in it.
- A vice on one side, a sugar rush on the other. Beer, wine, spirits, cannabis drinks, tobacco and nicotine brands sat a few steps from candy booths holding more sweet treats than I had ever seen: the Shangri-La of my chubby nine-year-old self’s dreams.
Will you be going to NACS for the first time? A few tips:
- Wear good shoes.
- Pace yourself on the samples.
- Drink plenty of water. Put those free electrolyte hydration packets to good use!
- Map out your must-see booths ahead of time. Otherwise, you’ll see the same two-story booth from four angles and still miss the vendor you came for. Trust us on this.
Under all the noise, the show had a pretty clear message about where convenience retail is headed. Here’s what we heard.
Some Big Themes (Short Version)
1. AI is about getting found. More and more shoppers find stores through AI answers, maps, apps and car screens before they ever see your sign.
Sessions like “AI Hype Versus Retail Reality” and “Winning the AI Search Race” made the point: if AI doesn’t know about your store, many customers won’t either.
Other sessions covered AI for pricing and promotions, plus a reality check on what AI tools really cost.
2. Loyalty is getting personal. Retailers are mixing POS, loyalty, app, location and even weather data to send offers that feel “just for you.”
Retail media networks came up too, including how smaller chains can start one. And younger shoppers aren’t impressed by the basics. As C-Store Dive reported, speakers said Gen Z and Gen Alpha already expect the option to order ahead and pay by phone.
3. Trust is marketing. Google ratings, data privacy and showing up in your community all came up as ways to win customers. Or lose them. Two sessions at the NACS Future of Convenience booth hit this head-on. One, with SOCi, looked at how a store’s Google rating can cost it customers.
In another, NACS legal and government relations staff pitched privacy as a competitive advantage as consumer expectations and regulations keep changing.
On the community side, Inconvenience Inc and the NACS Foundation shared what worked (and what didn’t) in local engagement that builds loyalty. That’s good news for regional chains in Appalachia and the Southeast, where community involvement is already a strength, as GoMart has proven through its work with Children’s Home Society, Little League and High School sports, and local foundations that need a larger footprint to get their cause known.
Tools and Partners Worth a Look
In our partnership with GoMart, we work with a long list of technology partners. Here are three that had a strong presence on the show floor.
- Rovertown builds branded mobile apps for c-stores: in-app offers, games that bring people back and an employee hub.
- Paytronix runs loyalty and guest engagement for c-stores, including points and subscription programs.
- Vivid Impact handles the physical side of the brand: signage, store graphics and displays. This is where the message meets the customer.
The big idea: your app, your loyalty program and signage in your store work best when they’re strategic and cohesive.
So What Should C-Store Brands Do?
- Get found. Look up your own stores on Google, maps and your favorite AI platform like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Is it giving your potential customers the correct information? Treat reviews like a marketing channel, because they are one.
- Connect your data. It isn’t easy, but find ways for your loyalty, POS and app data to talk to inform each other. And understand that protecting that data is part of your brand promise and is of paramount importance.
- Stay local. For regional chains, community ties are something national players can’t copy. GoMart is putting a book in the hands of every West Virginia first grader through its Fueling Our Future initiative and lending its app and in-store signage to local organizations so they can reach audiences they couldn’t on their own. When your technology amplifies your community work, it becomes part of your brand and it’s authentic.
We came home with sore feet, a bag full of samples and one clear takeaway: the c-store that wins next is the one customers pick before they ever pull off the road.
Want to talk about what that looks like for your stores? Hit us up!