As convenience and fuel retailing’s premier industry event, the NACS Show attracts more than 23,500 industry stakeholders from around the world. Every year, the event brings together the most influential people and ideas, explores trends, showcases the most innovative technologies and displays amazing new products in a single gathering place. Buyers and sellers come together to conduct business and learn from one another—because if you’re not testing and learning every now and then, it’s a sign that you might not be doing anything innovative.
The Expo Shines
The NACS Show expo houses thousands of the latest products and services that c-stores sell and use every day. The six categories of the expo—Fuel Equipment & Services, Food Equipment & Foodservice Programs, Candy/Snacks, Facility Development & Store Operations, Merchandise and Technology—give you a one-of-a-kind, hands-on experience.
CNP Room
The Cool New Products Preview Room is loaded with new innovations, products, services and other growth opportunities. The Preview Room is segmented into seven areas to help you easily locate new products: Green (eco-friendly), Health & Wellness, New Design, New Flavors, New to the Industry, New Services and New Technology. Here, you can capture product details and access exhibitor contact information, as well as print your custom “shopping list” for a visit to the main expo.
Education Sessions
When it comes to learning, the power of peers is unequaled. Who better to learn from than the real-world industry insiders and retailer superstars who are shaping our industry’s future? The 50+ NACS Show education sessions are designed—by industry peers—to make you and your entire team better. With learning opportunities ranging from category best practices, to fully reimagining business operations, to implementing technology innovations, there are education sessions specific to every convenience role and pain point.
What’s New
Coming to the NACS Show just once is not enough. Your store can’t stay the same year after year. So, you can rely on the NACS Show as your global source for new ideas and business inspiration. This year, we’ve introduced many new elements to the NACS Show to keep you engaged, learning and connecting.
New trends: CBD
Learn how some convenience retailers are integrating CBD products into their c-stores, while still promoting responsible retail, and see which products are breaking through.
Two sessions at the 2019 NACS Show on October 2 will touch on CBD in the c-store industry: “Cannabis, Marijuana, CBD: The Practical and Legal Outlook” and “CBD, Hemp, Edibles: What Retailers Need to Know About This New Category.” Both education sessions will help you analyze your current product mix and better communicate basic CBD legal and product information to your staff and consumers.
In addition to the education sessions, the expo will feature a new pavilion featuring CBD products, so you can preview new products and feel ready once they are approved for sale.
New networking events
Attend the NACS Show Happy Hour on Wednesday, October 2, where every conversation can build connections and grow your business. Plus, don’t miss even more powerful networking opportunities at the NACS Show Kick-Off Party on Tuesday, October 1, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Then, inside the exhibit hall and at education sessions—and even in the hallways and on the shuttle buses—there are connections to be made around every corner.
New products
An event favorite, the Cool New Products Preview Room lets you discover the latest, hottest, cutting-edge products and ideas ready to redefine our industry. Open early for retailers, you can preview just-debuted items before the exhibit halls even open. Then, located on the expo floor, the New Exhibitor Area features only the supplier companies that have never exhibited at the NACS Show before. Get ahead of the game and your competition with these new products that are ready to hit the shelves and make your cash registers and attendants busier than ever.
New education segments
Whether you’re starting out with an idea, growing your skills or thinking strategically about expansion, NACS Show education segments will help you design an impactful experience tailored to your needs and goals at this moment in your business lifecycle on a topic. The segments, aided by a series of questions, will guide your education session selection.
Read each session description carefully when you are on-site or when pre-planning your experience with the My Show Planner. Look for the iconic segment identifier and color to understand if the session is designed for your current needs. Your segment likely will not be the same across all topics—in some areas you might be searching for how-tos and best practices, and on other topics, you could be seeking inspirational, forward-thinking thought leadership. At the NACS Show, there is a solution for every learning style and experience level.
Super Bonus Education
This year, two “Super Sessions” deliver mind-expanding ideas for industry leaders looking to push the boundaries of their business. For those of you wanting to grapple with the big issues and make big changes to your business, these two dynamic speakers are for you.
The Good Jobs Strategy
Thursday, October 3
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Zeynep Ton, adjunct associate professor of operations management at MIT Sloan School of Management and co-founder of the nonprofit Good Jobs Institute (GJI)
The retail landscape has changed dramatically during the past decade, and convenience stores are no exception. Digital technologies are increasing demands on store operations. Consumer preferences are shifting—for example, toward healthier, fresher food and beverages—requiring companies to adapt. Wages are rising, due to both a tight labor market and minimum wage legislation. To thrive in this environment, convenience stores need strong processes and a motivated and capable workforce that can solve customer problems, interact with new technologies and drive performance. Yet, many chains are far from that point. Their stores have high employee turnover and absenteeism, are often understaffed and are full of operational problems that reduce customer service and financial performance. In this environment, managers often spend their time fighting fires rather than leading people and improving performance.
Drawing on more than 15 years of research, Ton will describe the key elements of a system, which she calls the Good Jobs Strategy, that drives a capable and motivated workforce, satisfied and loyal customers, stellar financial performance and the ability to successfully adapt to changes. She also will explain how to get there.
Reimagining Mobility 2020-2030
Wednesday, October 2
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Jacob Schram, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company
By 2030, we’ll see developments that may be as profound as those of a hundred years before. Radical changes are coming, even faster this time, and across multiple dimensions. The characteristics of mobility at the second great inflection point will be significantly, not just marginally, better. Electric and autonomous vehicles, more interconnected and intelligent roadworks, new customer interfaces and services, and a dramatically different competitive landscape in which tech giants, start-ups and OEMS mix and mingle are just a few of the shifts. With any luck it will be what people actually want—not “faster horses”—but something qualitatively different and better. These coming changes are called mobility’s Second Great Inflection Point.
Know Before You Go
We’ve made it easy to organize your time at the NACS Show so you can focus on getting the most from your experience. Use our digital tools to research, browse, explore and plan your experience before you arrive in Atlanta.
Create a Personalized Agenda
The My Show Planner desktop planning tool gives you access to the Show before it starts, so you don’t miss a beat on-site. Create your customized schedule now by using the planner to:
- Research the events you’d like to attend, create a personal agenda and export it to your calendar
- Browse product categories, search exhibitors and save time by adding them to a list of booths you want to visit
- Explore the 50+ education sessions, tracks and speaker details, then “star” the sessions you want to attend
- Plan out the most effective way to utilize your time on-site
The best news? My Show Planner automatically syncs with the Show’s official app, so you only need to enter your info and plan your agenda once.
Take It with You
Sync with your My Show Planner agenda to easily stay on top of events, explore your saved education sessions and exhibitor visits and navigate the expo on-site using the interactive map feature. Simply download the official NACS Show mobile app to:
- Search the entire NACS Show by keyword
- Stay “in the know” with our Schedule of Events
- Browse exhibitors, booths and key Product Areas
- Easily navigate your way with our interactive maps
- Find Education Sessions and speakers
- Sync with your personal My Show Planner agenda
- Share your experience and follow the #NACSShow on social (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram)
Visit iTunes or Google Play to download the free 2019 NACS Show app to begin maximizing your experience today!