NACS Show 2023: State of the Industry

In our first video report from Atlanta we talk to leading players about the North American event and the biggest industry trends.

Thousands of industry professionals met in Atlanta on October 3 – 6 for the NACS Show and PEI Convention 2023. Through more than 70 educational sessions, 24,084 attendees got to learn about the state of the U.S. market, the latest regulations, how to tackle the labour challenge, the future of transportation, and ways to improve day-to-day operations.

Across 39,483 m2 of exhibition space at the Georgia World Congress Center, more than 1,200 exhibitors showcased their latest products and innovations in the areas of technology, fuel equipment, in-store merchandise, store operations and foodservices. Overall, there were 7,334 attendees classified as “buyers,” as well as attendees from 67 countries.

The U.S. convenience store industry continues to show a strong post-COVID pace – 150,174 stores achieved a total of $906.1 billion in sales in 2022. Average foodservice sales represented 25.6% of monthly in-store sales. The industry seems eager to push forward through new and existing trends such as digitalisation, promotions, retail media networks and EV charging.

Victor Paterno, President and CEO of Mandaluyong, Philippines-based Philippine Seven Corporation, was named the 2023-24 NACS chairman. There are 3,600 stores operating on the main island of Luzon, of which 54% are franchised.

This year at the NACS Show, NACS launched the Convenience Retailer of the Year Award Latin America and awarded two winners: Lion Place Cardales and LiSTO! Castaños.

On Oct. 6, WWE Superstar, actor and philanthropist John Cena inspired attendees to reach for their dreams and gave suggestions how to do so in a highly industry-focused talk.

In this first report, we talk to leading industry players about the impact of AI in our sector, how c-stores can improve delivery services, self-checkout and much more. The video features PDI Technologies, Diebold Nixdorf, Vroom Delivery, NACS, PEI, A2i Systems and Cloudics.