This issue looks ahead to the event, with profiles of two Super Session speakers and a list of all the education sessions that are currently scheduled. (Stay up to date on any changes by visiting nacsshow.com.)

NACS Show was last in Atlanta in 2019. It was a different world.

• That October, the average price of a gallon of gas in the United States was $2.72. Inflation for the year was 2.3%, up from 1.9% in 2018.
• The September 2019 issue of NACS Magazine had a story on loyalty programs, noting that Casey’s was introducing one for the first time ever. “They’re nascent,” Gray Taylor of Conexxus said of c-store loyalty programs in that issue.
• Sales for plug-in electric vehicles were in decline after a hot 2018, when Tesla delivered its Model 3. Approximately 300,000 EVs were sold in the U.S. in 2019.
• At the time of the NACS Show, COVID-19 was still about two and a half months from becoming a full-blown outbreak in China and about three and a half months away from being documented in the United States.

The NACS Show is in Las Vegas in 2024, then it’s scheduled for Chicago in 2025, Las Vegas in 2026 and then Atlanta again in 2027.

And don’t forget to register for the NACS Show if you haven’t yet.

By the time we return to Atlanta … who knows what the world will look like. But I’m already planning for the NACS Magazine September 2027 issue.

Four years from now we’ll plan to update this issue’s “C-Store Stories from ATL,” which dives into Atlanta’s convenience retail scene. Pat Pape, an industry veteran who frequently writes for NACS Magazine, covered two multi-location retailers with a major presence in and around Atlanta, RaceTrac and Golden Pantry. Mike Jordan, an Atlantan who frequently writes about the city’s food and culture, had the fun job of visiting a few c-stores that he thought stood out and writing profiles.

It’s one of my favorite stories in this issue, although I think there are a lot of standouts. Interested in bean-to-cup coffee, damp drinking, how to cater to travelers with pets or how the service station model evolved into the convenience store model? We’ve got you covered.

And don’t forget to register for the NACS Show if you haven’t yet. Visit nacsshow.com to register or plan your trip. I’ll plan to see you there.