C-stores in the future
We are deeply committed to the convenience store market. All of our real estate holdings and business ventures revolve around convenience stores. Therefore, I always wonder where the c-store market is heading in the future. This level of analysis and contemplation not only helps our business today but it allows us to scale for the future. I believe there are five trends we should be tracking for future developments in our market. More automation and customer self-service Have you walked into a Racetrac lately? There are more unmanned self-service POS systems in the store than there are employees. This trend is here to stay, in my opinion. It’s cheaper to invest upfront in high-end POS systems than recruiting, training, and retaining employees. Racetrac and other big national brands are testing the limits of self-checkout and other QR code-enabled systems to increase efficiency and profitability. Food, food, and more food QT, Racetrac, Wawa look more like QSRs than they...