Beginning in 2014, health insurance will be available to individuals and small businesses through state-run “exchanges.” These will require insurance companies to compete for business in the marketplace. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Now is the time for employers to prepare to meet requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Obama administration’s healthcare law [...]
Staying one step ahead in a competitive marketplace requires planning, knowing your customers and understanding what opportunities exist in the marketplace. Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Everyone loves pizza. It’s convenient, tasty and usually a good value for the money. “It’s easy, agreeable to all and enjoyable,” said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst for NPD Group. [...]
Craft on draft is showing up in more and more convenience stores as consumers drive the demand for this niche brew program. Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Despite restrictions on where and how it can be sold, growler beer is a rapidly growing segment of the beer category, and convenience store operators are getting in on [...]
Dealing with a host of primary wholesalers, multiple DSD vendors and local foodservice providers, convenience store chains are learning to grow more efficient without sacrificing goods and services. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor Like millions of Americans, Matt Paduano was traveling this summer, but he didn’t return home with a sun tan and postcards from [...]
While LED lighting has helped many businesses reduce their carbon footprint, each retailer must decide if the endeavor is a worthy long-term investment. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. During holiday season 2011, the 74-foot Norway spruce in New York City’s Rockefeller Center was covered in 30,000 multicolored light-emitting diodes (LED). Those glowing decorations were an [...]
Retailers and government officials butt heads over handmade cigarettes. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor Celeste Lucas likes to smoke, but she doesn’t like paying $5 a pack for cigarettes, so she took matters into her own hands and purchased a roll-your-own cigarette machine. Using loose tobacco and paper tubes, she can now create an entire [...]
Stripes is among the growing number of convenience store chains providing an authentic Hispanic cuisine to attract this growing demographic. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Early each morning the parking lots of Stripes Convenience Stores fill up with the trucks and cars of customers wanting to purchase a hearty meal of breakfast tacos, carne guisada [...]
While the new compliance standards have been on the ATM industry’s radar for many years. Fully understanding the intricacies of the new rules could be an overwhelming task for many storeowners. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. The ATM industry is currently facing the most complicated, but critical challenge it has ever encountered—managing the technical, new [...]
Convenience store owners need to work more closely with suppliers and wholesalers to get better supply contracts and offer consumers more competitive prices. Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Convenience store owners need to work more closely with suppliers and wholesalers to get better supply contracts and offer consumers more competitive prices. A plaque in Ray Johnson’s [...]
With gas prices again on the rise, consumers are pumped about loyalty programs that offer discounts on gasoline. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Today’s competitive retailing environment makes it tough to attract and keep customers, so convenience stores are turning to loyalty programs that allow the faithful to earn points as they shop and redeem [...]
There are endless perks and possibilities for convenience store chains of all sizes that embrace self delivery. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. In the highly competitive convenience store industry, retailers must constantly search out new ways to control expenses, boost profits and improve margins. For chains of a certain size, self-distribution has the potential to [...]
Prominently placed security cameras can help deter potential thieves and identify those who do steal. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. A store cashier pockets the $20 bill that a busy commuter hands him to pay for fuel. A shopper picks up a tube of lip balm and casually drops it into her purse. A customer [...]
As retail technology evolves, convenience store operators have the tools to turn sales figures into actionable information. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Thanks to advanced technology, retailers can now collect data at the point of sale that tells them what is moving out of their stores, when it sells, who buys it and at what [...]
As the wellness market matures, consumers across all demographics are looking to manage any number of specific health concerns. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. When Bob Sickles was growing up on his family’s New Jersey farm, he ate plenty of homegrown produce and acquired an affinity for non-processed foods. “Of course, we had Pop Tarts [...]
Convenience store operators must stop treating the need for compliance as a nuisance. It is a complex part of the business that must be faced head on. By Pat Pape, Contributing Editor. Just one month ago, Chase, the second-largest U.S. bank, plus a host of other well-known businesses, notified customers that their e-mail addresses had [...]