From the Krispy Krunchy Chicken barn to the many handouts from Hershey’s, and all the beef jerky and pizza samples in between, the 2022 NACS Show was a feast of indulgent flavors. We were told to pace ourselves at this, our first annual show — and we tried.

Beyond the many sweet and savory delights, the NACS Show also served up a lot of valuable insights on the state of convenience retailing these days, and where the industry is headed. 

There was a good deal of discussion about the rapid expansion of electric vehicles and how retailers can prepare for the future of fueling. Convenience-store executives also laid out some of their latest strategies for recruiting new workers and enticing people inside their stores. For instance, attendees at one Sunday morning session learned how Wawa has built up a social media following of 2.6 million consumers.

In between bites of cheddar popcorn and Oreo Cakesters, we also picked up some interesting morsels from vendors on the expo floor. Top CPGs discussed some of the most pressing consumer trends they’re trying to meet these days, while technology firms demonstrated new loyalty platforms, management software and all the ways they’re trying to reduce checkout friction.

Here’s a collection of stories that lay out some of our top insights from this year’s NACS Show.