NACS 2024: Exploring today’s convenience and fuel retail industry

At the beginning of October, a team from NCR Voyix attended the 2024 NACS show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was an exciting year for the annual event for convenience and fuel retailers, showcasing advancements and trends in five overarching categories: in-store merchandise, technology, facility operations, fuel equipment and services and food service. A record-breaking 26,124 participants from 68 different countries attended the show. Here's what we saw at the event:

Highlights on industry trends and what retailers are facing

New applications for AI

From using generative AI as a forecasting tool to optimizing merchandise storage and displays, the applications of AI for convenience stores continue to expand. In an article about trends on the NACS show floor, CSP noted the prevalence of AI at the show, including new technology showcased at the NCR Voyix booth that allows retailers to interact with an AI chatbot that processes transaction data, as well as a solution that would allow shoppers to utilize self-checkout without scanning individual items.

Food service as a differentiator

As the CFR retail landscape expands, customers have more choices than ever for where to fuel up their vehicles and stop for refreshments. Sessions on foodservice innovations, alcohol merchandising and waste reduction drew attendees' attention. Eventgoers saw innovations around ordering food at the pump to save time.

Focus on enhanced customer experiences

From increasing employee engagement to focusing on hiring and training practices, the conversations around customer experience largely focused on the role of staff members in facilitating positive experiences. We saw that the customer experience continues to be a big priority for convenience and fuel retailers as they think about refining their training strategy for staff to elevate the shopper experience.

NCR Voyix at NACS 2024

NACS 2024 also marked an exciting occasion for NCR Voyix. In addition to displays demonstrating the power of edge technology and the new self-checkout branding studio, the show presented the perfect opportunity to launch CFR Essentials, an off-the-shelf bundle of powerful POS tools specifically designed to make running convenience stores more efficient than ever by utilizing our Next Gen Virtualization POS Platform. Visitors to the NCR Voyix booth at the expo had the opportunity to explore the CFR Essentials offering, which includes multiple self-checkout options, analytics, a kitchen production system, and other tools and integrations. With real-time analytics and insights available via phone or tablet, CFR Essentials represents an exciting new opportunity for retailers to optimize their businesses. Customers who visited the booth were excited about the new advancements, including one customer who remarked, "With CFR Essentials, NCR Voyix is going to sweep the market."

As always with these industry shows, we welcomed the opportunity to meet with current customers, partners and prospects and hear about their business goals and what they are looking to do together on their tech strategies. We are already looking forward to NACS 2025 in Chicago.

Explore our suite of tools for the convenience, fuel and retail industry, or, to learn more about powering your business with CFR Essentials, schedule a demo.

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