National Association of Convenience Stores
Encyclopedia
NACS is an international trade association representing the convenience and fuel retailing industry.
NACS serves the convenience and fuel retailing industry by providing industry knowledge, connections and advocacy to ensure the competitive viability of its members' businesses. In 2007, the association shortened its name to NACS and added a qualifying statement that better defines its presence both internationally and at the retail fueling level: The Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing. In 2010, this statement was further enhanced to The Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing.
Each February 2, in anticipation of the seasonal transition to summer-blend fuels, NACS publishes its online gas price kit, which examines consumer perceptions about gas prices, the conditions that affect gas prices, and dozens of resources and data that explain the gasoline
retail marketplace.
are members of NACS, the majority of its members are small, independent operators. More than 70 percent of its total membership are companies that operate 10 stores or less. This membership base roughly tracks the industry as a whole. Of the 145,000 convenience stores in the United States, 62 percent are owned and operated by someone who only has one store.
Its website, NACS Online, includes a frequently updated blog
, NACS TV video clips, NACS Daily news
stories that are published each business day, and a variety of other resources for both retailers and suppliers. As a benefit of membership, NACS members receive unlimited subscriptions to NACS Magazine, the association’s award-winning monthly publication that focuses on trends, best practices, metrics and analysis.
Motor Fuels: NACS is the industry’s leading advocate on motor fuels policy and represents 80 percent of the country’s retail fuel sales.
As the leading retailer of motor fuels — gasoline and diesel fuel — the convenience store industry has a vested interest in legislation and regulations that affect the production, distribution and ultimate price and supply of motor fuels at the retail level of trade
. In addition, convenience stores have a specific responsibility to securely store and dispense motor fuels, a responsibility that is constantly scrutinized by regulators at the federal and state level. NACS recognizes the unique role of the convenience store retailer within the motor fuel system and represents the industry's interests before Congress and the administration.
Credit Card Fees: Credit card fees, or swipe fees, are the convenience and petroleum retailing industry’s top pain point. In 2008, credit card fees surged another 10.5 percent to reach a record $8.4 billion — nearly three times the level just five years ago — an amount more than $3 billion
greater than convenience store industry pretax profits. The largest component of these fees is known as “interchange
,” a fee charged by the cardholder’s bank to the retailer’s bank and passed on to the retailer. Interchange fees are far higher than the actual processing costs and risks involved, yet these transactions fees continue to rise.
NACS is currently urging the United States Congress
to persuade the credit card companies to explain their fees, practices and policies to retailers and the public. NACS is the named plaintiff in a class action suing not only Visa and MasterCard, but also their issuing banks. This suit has been combined with over 40 other suits and has been given the lead status in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
. At the same time, NACS has helped form the Merchants Payment Coalition (MPC), which is working for a more competitive and transparent credit card fee system that better serves American consumers and merchants alike.
Labor: The convenience store industry employs 1.73 million
Americans, and labor costs are the largest expense category for the industry. NACS seeks to work with congressional leaders on labor issues so that retailers can control their costs and not have to make the choice between offering benefits and hiring new employees.
Beginning with the 1960s, each decade takes a look back at where the convenience store gained momentum as a viable and competitive retail channel of trade and the role NACS continues to play in helping shape today's convenience and fuel retailing industry.
.
NACS also has several industry-specific reports and programs that define the industry’s performance:
, Chicago
and Atlanta. The event also features over 60 workshops and three general sessions. The 2012 NACS Show will take place October 7–10 in Las Vegas. The NACS Show also is considered a buying show — it typically ranks first in the country among all shows with respect to “buying power” — attendee’s ability to recommend or make purchases – based on data collected by Exhibitor Surveys Inc.
NACStech: The association’s annual technology-based trade show. In 2012, it will take place May 21–23 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Approximately 1,300 attendees and more than 100 exhibitors are expected at NACStech, which also will feature 24 workshops dedicated to critical industry topics including PCI and triple DES compliance, state-of-the-art loyalty programs and maximizing POS
strategies.
NACS State of the Industry Summit: The event delivers a thorough review of trends and opportunities by dissecting comprehensive industry data. The 2012 event will take place April 3–5 in Chicago
.
NACS Global Forum: The annual event allows retailers and suppliers to interact with their counterparts from other countries, share global best practices, understand emerging trends, gain consumer insights and experience new ideas in the convenience channel. The 2012 Forum will take place June 29 – July 2 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
NACS develops a host of other targeted events, including the NACS Introduction to Category Management Seminar, NACS Advanced Category Management Seminar, Human Resources Forum, NACS Leadership Challenge and the NACS Leadership Executive Program.
Background
NACS was founded August 14, 1961, as the National Association of Convenience Stores. It is an international trade association representing more than 2,100 retail and 1,500 supplier company members. NACS member companies do business in nearly 50 countries worldwide, with the majority of members based in the United States. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 146,000 stores across the country, posted $575.6 billion in total sales in 2010, with $385.3 billion in motor fuels sales.NACS serves the convenience and fuel retailing industry by providing industry knowledge, connections and advocacy to ensure the competitive viability of its members' businesses. In 2007, the association shortened its name to NACS and added a qualifying statement that better defines its presence both internationally and at the retail fueling level: The Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing. In 2010, this statement was further enhanced to The Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing.
Each February 2, in anticipation of the seasonal transition to summer-blend fuels, NACS publishes its online gas price kit, which examines consumer perceptions about gas prices, the conditions that affect gas prices, and dozens of resources and data that explain the gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
retail marketplace.
Membership
While 49 of the top 50 convenience stores in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
are members of NACS, the majority of its members are small, independent operators. More than 70 percent of its total membership are companies that operate 10 stores or less. This membership base roughly tracks the industry as a whole. Of the 145,000 convenience stores in the United States, 62 percent are owned and operated by someone who only has one store.
Its website, NACS Online, includes a frequently updated blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, NACS TV video clips, NACS Daily news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
stories that are published each business day, and a variety of other resources for both retailers and suppliers. As a benefit of membership, NACS members receive unlimited subscriptions to NACS Magazine, the association’s award-winning monthly publication that focuses on trends, best practices, metrics and analysis.
Advocacy
NACS is the industry's voice in the federal government — to the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Its issues are as varied as the industry it represents, from motor fuels to credit card fees to labor to taxes. Here is an overview:Motor Fuels: NACS is the industry’s leading advocate on motor fuels policy and represents 80 percent of the country’s retail fuel sales.
As the leading retailer of motor fuels — gasoline and diesel fuel — the convenience store industry has a vested interest in legislation and regulations that affect the production, distribution and ultimate price and supply of motor fuels at the retail level of trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. In addition, convenience stores have a specific responsibility to securely store and dispense motor fuels, a responsibility that is constantly scrutinized by regulators at the federal and state level. NACS recognizes the unique role of the convenience store retailer within the motor fuel system and represents the industry's interests before Congress and the administration.
Credit Card Fees: Credit card fees, or swipe fees, are the convenience and petroleum retailing industry’s top pain point. In 2008, credit card fees surged another 10.5 percent to reach a record $8.4 billion — nearly three times the level just five years ago — an amount more than $3 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
greater than convenience store industry pretax profits. The largest component of these fees is known as “interchange
Interchange fee
Interchange fee is a term used in the payment card industry to describe a fee paid between banks for the acceptance of card based transactions. Usually it is a fee that a merchant's bank pays a customer's bank however there are instances where the interchange fee is paid from the issuer to...
,” a fee charged by the cardholder’s bank to the retailer’s bank and passed on to the retailer. Interchange fees are far higher than the actual processing costs and risks involved, yet these transactions fees continue to rise.
NACS is currently urging the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to persuade the credit card companies to explain their fees, practices and policies to retailers and the public. NACS is the named plaintiff in a class action suing not only Visa and MasterCard, but also their issuing banks. This suit has been combined with over 40 other suits and has been given the lead status in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. At the same time, NACS has helped form the Merchants Payment Coalition (MPC), which is working for a more competitive and transparent credit card fee system that better serves American consumers and merchants alike.
Labor: The convenience store industry employs 1.73 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
Americans, and labor costs are the largest expense category for the industry. NACS seeks to work with congressional leaders on labor issues so that retailers can control their costs and not have to make the choice between offering benefits and hiring new employees.
NACS 50th anniversary website
The NACS 50th anniversary Website shares how the convenience and fuels retailing industry has grown and where it is heading. From its humble beginnings as small corner stores in the 1920s to today's often 5,000-square-foot-plus locations, NACS has helped support this dynamic industry — whether before the U.S. Congress, with education and training programs, top-level industry-specific events and products and services to help build retailer profits and improve store operations.Beginning with the 1960s, each decade takes a look back at where the convenience store gained momentum as a viable and competitive retail channel of trade and the role NACS continues to play in helping shape today's convenience and fuel retailing industry.
NACS products
NACS produces a variety of products to help retailers grow their businesses, from research and marketing to human resources support to category managementCategory management
Category management is a retailing and supply management concept in which the range of products purchased by a business organisation or sold by a retailer is broken down into discrete groups of similar or related products; these groups are known as product categories...
.
NACS also has several industry-specific reports and programs that define the industry’s performance:
- The NACS State of the Industry Report, the industry’s premier benchmarking tool and most comprehensive collection of firm-level, store-level and category data and trends based on the convenience store industry’s annual performance
- CSX, the largest purpose-built, online database of financial and operating data in the industry
- Consumer Tracking Program, a store-level shopperShopperShopper may refer to:*Personal shopper*Computer Shopper *Window Shopper*Secret shopper *Euro Shopper*Happy Shopper*A newspaper that contains only or mainly advertising...
entry and exit research and insight program
NACS events
NACS Show: Typically held in October, is the industry’s signature event. In addition to NACS, the event features strategic alliances with the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) and Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI). Drawing more than 22,000 attendees and 1,200 exhibitors which cover nearly 400,000 net square feet, it rotates between three cities: Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Atlanta. The event also features over 60 workshops and three general sessions. The 2012 NACS Show will take place October 7–10 in Las Vegas. The NACS Show also is considered a buying show — it typically ranks first in the country among all shows with respect to “buying power” — attendee’s ability to recommend or make purchases – based on data collected by Exhibitor Surveys Inc.
NACStech: The association’s annual technology-based trade show. In 2012, it will take place May 21–23 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Approximately 1,300 attendees and more than 100 exhibitors are expected at NACStech, which also will feature 24 workshops dedicated to critical industry topics including PCI and triple DES compliance, state-of-the-art loyalty programs and maximizing POS
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
strategies.
NACS State of the Industry Summit: The event delivers a thorough review of trends and opportunities by dissecting comprehensive industry data. The 2012 event will take place April 3–5 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
NACS Global Forum: The annual event allows retailers and suppliers to interact with their counterparts from other countries, share global best practices, understand emerging trends, gain consumer insights and experience new ideas in the convenience channel. The 2012 Forum will take place June 29 – July 2 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
NACS develops a host of other targeted events, including the NACS Introduction to Category Management Seminar, NACS Advanced Category Management Seminar, Human Resources Forum, NACS Leadership Challenge and the NACS Leadership Executive Program.