Travel Center Industry Threats and Opportunities

Polly Flinn, founder and principal of Flinnstone Strategies, is an industry expert in creating customer- focused, convenience formats that make their numbers. Travel centers have the opportunity to increase wallet share by creating a compelling and consistent brand experience to grow traffic, loyalty, sales and profit. In this NATSO Connect 2024 keynote, Flinn shares new insights into the future of travel center retail, offering her expertise on customer segments, brand experience and retail offers. Watch a video of her presentation.

Signage is powerful, but if signs include too much information, they become more noise that customers have to sift through. The most effective signs streamline information and make it easy for customers to connect with the messaging. Travel center signs should be clutter free. “It is decluttered, more focused messaging. That applies to price signs and digital signs,” said Cameron Cordova, vice president of sales at PMW Electronic Price Signs. “You don’t want to do too much. We’re a micro-consumption type of society. You don’t want to create something people have to stand there and read.”

Innovation is a necessity for survival and growth in business, especially as markets become more competitive and customers’ needs and preferences change. Finding new innovative solutions and products can help businesses differentiate themselves from competitors, attract new customers and retain existing ones. During NATSO Connect’s Tank Talks, five industry providers shared their products and ideas during quick, five-minute presentations modeled after a popular TV show. A panel of judges and the audience voted on the products or services they thought would improve the travel center wallet share. As we gear up for another Tank Talk session in Las Vegas, take a look back at 2024’s winners with us.

Different technology boasts different features, and there are several factors travel center operators should consider when determining which point-of-sale (POS) system to use.

During the retail tours of the NACS Convenience Summit Europe, I had the opportunity to tour multiple combinations of retail operations. Participants could see not only what is different but also what is possible -- from automated cigarette vending machines in the hotel to vibrant nontraditional fuel canopies. Here are a few takeaways from the retail tours.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 28 released two proposed tobacco product standards that would ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and ban all characterizing flavors, including […]

During the NATSO Connect keynote on “Checkout Technology: How Your Customers Want to Checkout Has Changed,” Greg Buzek, IHL Group, moderated a panel discussion on the future of checkout technology.

Right now, it may seem impossible to think past today, but the world is still turning and so is your inventory, so you've got to be thinking about its future. In this video podcast, Darren Schulte, NATSO’s vice president, membership, and Amy Toner, NATSO’s vice president, publishing and digital content, embrace Christmas in July with their discussion of seasonal merchandise.

Do you ever wonder why your travel center’s retail/food conversion rates from the diesel fueling lanes are so low, even though a very large percentage of professional divers come into […]

Whether it is fresh food to stock the fridge, s’mores supplies, or recreation items such as bait, truckstops and travel centers should consider offering things they may not have sold before this summer. NATSO's Darren Schulte and Amy Toner sat down to talk about ideas to bring families and RVers through the doors.

In this episode, Darren Schulte takes listeners on a deep dive into trucking trends and food trends impacting the industry.

Generation Z, the group coming up right behind Millennials, will overtake Gen Y as the country's largest cohort by 2034, ultimately peaking at 78 million. Members of Gen Z—those born between 1997 and 2012—have different shopping habits than the generations before them, and retailers can't afford to ignore this critical group of shoppers. Here are six facts about Gen Z that can help retailers connect with this powerful customer base.