Seasonality is more important than you may think to your store’s success. It’s June now and you can surely count on your customers to start coming into your store for those summertime essentials. Sure, your regular customers will likely still visit to pick up their typical items, but many will likely start to change or add to their routine in one way or another. If your store isn’t capitalizing on the opportunity pick up some extra profit on summertime spending, you’ll really be missing out.

The checkout counter is the last chance to get customers to purchase additional items and leaves a lasting impression in customers' minds. Making sure your counter has a tempting “selling zone” that draws in impulse shoppers to increase your profits. Understanding what is working and how you can improve can make all the difference. If you believe your checkout counter does not need improvement, understand that “no matter what you’re selling, a disorganized store filled with cluttered shelves...

In today’s regulatory environment, health inspectors are evaluating retailers on the efforts they are making to keep their consumers safe rather than what might already be wrong. Inspections are no longer only intended to check for obvious potential dangers, but also to examine the procedures and standards in an individual business. As inspectors are becoming more stringent in the way that they monitor convenience stores and other food retailers, it’s more important for owners and operators to...

Keeping the right products in your store is about more than simply finding the ones you get a great deal on, the ones other stores are carrying, or even the ones customers have bought before. Deciding what products you should stock in your store, and how, should rely on a careful strategy. This strategy is called category management. While the large chains have corporate teams to study data and analyses to guide the right purchasing decisions, category management is an activity that businesses...

The 2016 United States presidential election left a considerable portion the country with many uncertainties about the future. One major area of concern going into 2017 is the country’s economy and the outlook for current and potential business owners. While 80% of roughly 1,400 executives from small and mid-sized businesses across the country say that they are optimistic about the economy, there are still some lingering worries1. A survey by Bank of America showed that small business owners...

Out of stock can sometimes mean out of business, according to Jim Callahan of Convenience Store Decisions. Many owners have not been paying attention to the effects that out-of-stock products can have on a c-store. It is important to understand how this is happening and how it can cause you to lose major profits if you do not take simple steps to fix the problem now.

We really can’t say this enough: Owning and operating a convenience store is a tough job. When you are a single store owner with very little help, this job is even harder. Not only do many c-store owners independently own and operate their store, they are often actually doing the day to day work inside the store too. With a demanding daily workload and the pressure to continue growing and expanding their business, it’s easy for the average c-store owner to become burnt out and lose sight of the...

One of the most important aspects of owning a c-store is deciding product pricing to make the most profit. Learning to develop your pricing strategies, knowing what to avoid, and understanding the importance of knowing your competition’s prices helps you be informed and make the best pricing decisions. The following information will give you a foundation to better understand your customers, your c-store, and the art of product pricing.

Recently, the USDA passed a new rule regarding minimum stock requirements for SNAP authorized retailers. The changes to the rule are significant, but should not be very difficult for convenience store owners to comply with.

In the ‘80s, ‘90s and early 2000s, the FBI took great strides in educating and protecting c-store chains from crime. In recent years, many new 'Mom and Pop' single owner stores have emerged into the c-store industry. Without the proper knowledge and resources, these stores have become vulnerable to crime, especially those choosing to operate 24 hours a day.