NACS Show 2026

THC beverages are one of the fastest-growing categories in both convenience stores and the broader adult beverage market.

Diana Eberlein, Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives chair and CSP C-Store Cannabis board member, shared this insight during an education session titled The Next Wave in the Cold Vault on October 7th at the NACS Show in Las Vegas.

Citing NielsenIQ data, Eberlein said c-store THC beverage sales for 52 weeks ending September 12th was roughly 73 million.

Quote, "Convenience is the fastest-growing channel at 95% right now," end quote, she said.

Bring customers into your convenience store with bundles and make the value salient.

This advice comes from McKinsey partners Andrew Davis and John R. Moran.

The two spoke October 7th at the 2026 NACS Show.

"Value is the most important battleground in 2026," Moran said, adding that when you ask consumers why they choose option A over option B, right behind taste these days is value.

Nicotine continues to be a critical category for convenience stores as it represents 26% of inside sales and 13% of gross profit.

Jasmeet Chawla, vice president of merchandising for 7-Eleven, shared this insight during an education session on tobacco on Wednesday at the 2026 NACS Show in Las Vegas.

According to his data, nicotine consumers visit convenience stores more often, and 70% shop at least daily.

"There's no such thing as unskilled labor." This comes from Lonnie McWhorter, the new NACS chairman and director of operations at the independent convenience store, 36 Linn Refuel Station in Minneapolis.

McWhorter, who spoke October 7 at the 2026 NACS Show in Las Vegas, asked, "Remember a few years back when we were talking about essential workers? They were essential then.

They were essential now.

They're gonna be essential in the next 10 years." McWhorter added that people working in convenience retail do very important work and are essential workers.

Under Act 57, the Attorney General's office is responsible for building and publishing a list of approved vaping products, the Attorney General's office said in a press release.

NACS president CEO on stage.

Frank Gleason took the NACS Show stage on Thursday after nearly a year in his new role as president and CEO of the convenience store organization.

Gleason officially succeeded Henry Armor, who had held the role since July two thousand and five, on January first.

At the NACS Show in Las Vegas, Gleason shared that next year the industry will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the convenience store.

He laid out some challenges and opportunities for the industry looking forward.

Walmart opens next gen warehouse in Stockton, California.

Fourth quarter sales were up one point six percent and full year sales rose three point seven percent.

Same store sales were up one point six percent for the quarter and two point two percent for the year, led by growth in digital sales and in the fresh and pharmacy departments.

Happy people make happy sandwiches.

Nathan Bartlett, director of culinary center operations at Cumberland Farms, spoke Tuesday about the commissary model at the NACS Show.

He said the company sought to resolve its labor issues in a multifaceted approach.

Cumberland Farms surveyed its employees and asked what management could do to improve their workplace, he said.

Target told Bloomberg the change is functional and distinctive and follows the retailer's effort to elevate the guest experience.

Avoid made-to-order food service.

Unless a convenience store operator's opportunity is great, they shouldn't get involved in a made-to-order food service program, said Chris Rapaknek, managing director of research at NACS, speaking Tuesday about inflation pressures in a state of the industry update at the NACS show.

Rapaknek said to think about commissary instead and to think about other opportunities to make profits.

It's a really big show.

The 2026 NACS show kicked off Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada.

Tens of thousands of convenience retailers, suppliers, and more are gathered for education sessions, networking, and a trade show floor loaded with thousands of new products.

About 24,000 people from over 60 countries generally attend the biggest annual event in convenience store retailing.

Today is October 5th, 2026.

I am just back from Nashville for a couple days before heading out to Las Vegas once again for the second time in 10 days to attend this year's NACS Conference.

That is the National Association of Convenience Stores.

And this morning we've got news on Walmart's new light-up digital shelf labels and IKEA's decision to close three of its small format stores.