The5For

Good morning, fellow c-store aficionados! It’s Thursday, May 14th, and we’re diving into all the news that created a buzz around the convenience industry yesterday, Wednesday, May 14th. From companies doubling down on their food game to retailers navigating the ever-evolving nicotine landscape, there’s plenty of action happening. Plus, we’ve got updates from some big players on how they’re gearing up for that busy summer season!

Let’s dive into The 5 For today!

1. Kent Companies Goes All-In on Foodservice Destination

We’ve been talking a lot about foodservice being a major growth engine in our industry, and Kent Companies is putting some serious investment behind that trend. They’re rolling out a new, food-focused design for their Kent Kwik stores that really aims to make the location a destination. We’re talking made-to-order kitchens, convenient drive-thrus, the popular beer and ice caves, and even two-bay car washes. Get this – their latest store under construction in Midland, Texas, is set to include the retailer’s second-ever dog wash. Talk about catering to travelers!

This isn’t just a coat of paint; it’s a strategic move that highlights how convenience retailing is expanding. It’s not just about a quick fuel stop or grabbing a pack of gum anymore. Kent Kwik is actively leaning into the fact that customers are increasingly seeking quality, prepared food options on the go. Their Kwik Eats Deli, centered around that made-to-order kitchen and drive-thru, is designed to serve meals across all dayparts, from breakfast burritos to burgers, pizza, and chicken sandwiches. This clearly shows the critical importance for c-stores to evolve beyond traditional offerings and become serious competitors in the prepared food arena. Kent, who is already one of the fastest-growing mid-size retailers in the U.S., is joining other forward-thinking retailers like 7-Eleven and GPM Investments who are also prioritizing food with new, innovative formats.

What this means for retailers: Investing in enhanced foodservice, potentially including convenient options like drive-thrus or unique complementary services like a dog wash, can transform your store from a quick stop into a more comprehensive destination for customers. It’s smart to evaluate your specific location, customer demographics, and traffic patterns to see if expanding and highlighting your food offerings is a viable strategy to capture more visits and increase that all-important basket size.

2. Navigating the Shifting Smokeless Nicotine Landscape

The tobacco backbar continues its dynamic transformation, and the latest market data underscores the changes. While traditional cigarettes are seeing a steady decline, the big story right now is the explosive growth in sales for modern oral nicotine pouches. These products are absolutely soaring in popularity – sales spiked a remarkable 59% in c-stores last year! Looking at the first quarter of 2025, total category sales rose 45% to an impressive $1.375 billion across all retail channels. In fact, new modern oral products accounted for 7% of total tobacco sales across all retail types last year. This growth is leading retailers to dedicate significantly more shelf space to these pouches, often reducing the space allocated to traditional cigarettes and even some e-cigarettes.

This trend delivers a critical message for every retailer: staying acutely aware of consumer preferences in the nicotine category is paramount. The data shows that total nicotine sales saw an almost 3% decline year-over-year in Q1 2025, with c-store cigarette sales dropping nearly 5% in that same period. Factors like economic pressures, including inflation, are undeniably pushing consumers to seek more value by “downtrading” within cigarettes or moving entirely to less expensive non-combustible alternatives like nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes. Industry experts are confidently predicting that the new modern oral category will continue to grow exponentially, and the FDA’s authorization of marketing for specific nicotine pouches like Zyn is certainly setting the stage for this continued rapid expansion. Retailers should also be keeping an eye on heated tobacco products, like Iqos, which are beginning to see wider rollout in the U.S. market.

What this means for retailers: Success in this category isn’t simply about keeping products in stock; it’s fundamentally about understanding the evolving trends, the nuances of different formats (pouches, heated tobacco, etc.), and critically, how to merchandise them effectively to make it easy for the customer. Experts strongly advise implementing a logical merchandising strategy that focuses on clear brand blocks, flavor blocks within brands, and arranging nicotine strengths in ascending order. Providing clear in-store education can also be a big help for customers navigating the options. Furthermore, leveraging smart loyalty programs to offer shopper-specific deals on these growing categories can be an excellent next step to capture more of this shifting market share. Adapting your inventory and layout to accurately reflect these consumer shifts is essential to winning in this complex category.

3. Buc-ee’s Billboards: Tapping into the Gen Z Vibe

Okay, you just have to give it to Buc-ee’s – they know how to get noticed! Those legendary billboards, the ones that are like beacons of hope on a long road trip, are now quite clearly speaking the language of Gen Z. If you’ve driven past one lately, you might have seen phrases like “ICYMI,” “It’s giving potty time,” and yes, even “SLAY.”

This is, quite simply, brilliant marketing in action. Buc-ee’s deeply understands the importance of connecting with younger consumers, and they’re not afraid to get creative. By authentically using Gen Z’s language and tapping into their sense of humor, they are creating instantly relatable and highly shareable content that is absolutely resonating with this demographic, particularly on platforms like TikTok. It serves as a powerful reminder that even the most traditional advertising methods, like a highway billboard, can be made incredibly fresh and relevant by truly understanding your audience and, honestly, not being afraid to just have a little bit of fun with it.

What this means for retailers: Take a moment to consider who your primary target audience is and how you can communicate with them in a way that feels genuine, authentic, and genuinely engaging. This might involve strategically incorporating current slang or relevant humor into your marketing efforts, whether that’s online through social media or even through your in-store signage and promotions. Buc-ee’s proves the immense power of simply knowing who you’re talking to and speaking their language!

4. Wawa’s Sweet Summer Sip Savings

Wawa is getting a jump on the summer season by rolling out some seriously sweet deals specifically for their valued rewards members. Running from May 12th through June 22nd, customers enrolled in Wawa Rewards can redeem special bonus offers like $1 for any size hot coffee, $2 for iced coffee, and $1 for Wawa teas and fruit drinks. To add to the summer excitement, they’re also introducing some fun new beverage flavors, including pineapple and watermelon, plus those trendy sour cherry popping bubbles! These new flavors and bubbles can be added to a wide variety of their popular beverages, such as smoothies, refreshers, and lemonades.

Promotions like these are absolutely key to driving both traffic and loyalty, especially as the weather gets warmer and people are on the move, looking for refreshing drinks. Wawa is smartly leveraging its robust loyalty program to offer tangible value and create buzz around their extensive beverage offerings. They’re even positioning these offers as making the customer’s visit the “easiest part of their day” – a great message for a convenience brand! This summer beverage promotion is also part of their larger, ongoing “Cravings Made Easy” campaign, which strategically features limited-time food deals across various accessible price points ($2, $4, $6).

What this means for retailers: Loyalty programs are undeniably powerful tools for driving both engagement and sales. Think about how you can offer targeted promotions and introduce new, exciting seasonal products (like those perfect-for-summer beverage flavors) to create a sense of novelty and give customers compelling reasons to visit your store. Consider the power of bundling – offering deals that combine food and drink can be a fantastic way to increase the average basket size.

5. Weigel’s Kicks Off Summer with Road Trip Ready Promos

Not to be left in the dust, Weigel’s is also launching a big, splashy summer promotion campaign aptly named “MyWeigel’s Rewards Road Trip ’25”. Running from May 5th all the way through August 3rd, they are giving their loyalty members chances to win some absolutely awesome prizes designed for summer fun. We’re talking big ticket items like a Sea-Doo personal watercraft, an Eddie Bauer camper, Traeger wood pellet grills, free gas for a year (imagine that!), free fountain drinks for a year, and much more. On the food side, they’ve got exclusive member deals like $8.99 for any one-topping pizza all summer long, a daily $1 coffee happy hour, and a buy-one-get-one hot dog deal for just $1.

This is another fantastic case study in how a retailer can successfully create excitement and deeply reward customer loyalty, particularly during a peak travel season. The “Road Trip” theme is perfectly aligned with summer, and the sheer variety of high-value prizes and attractive food deals is designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of customers. Weigel’s director of loyalty specifically highlighted their successful partnership with GSP in helping bring the campaign’s energy to life in-store, effectively rewarding guests and enhancing their summer travel experience. It’s also worth noting that Weigel’s isn’t alone in this approach; other retailers like Rutter’s have also recently kicked off summer sweepstakes with significant prize pools.

What this means for retailers: The summer travel season represents a prime opportunity for impactful promotional campaigns. Leverage your loyalty program to offer exciting incentives and genuinely valuable deals on popular, high-margin items like pizza, coffee, and hot dogs. This is a proven strategy to drive traffic, encourage repeat visits, and boost overall engagement and sales throughout the busy months. A well-thought-out and effectively executed loyalty program and promotional campaign can make a significant difference to your bottom line.

Bonus Bit: Consumer Behavior and the Shadow of Tariffs

Finally, let’s touch on something that could subtly, but significantly, impact all of us in the industry: consumer behavior influenced by the discussion around potential tariffs. Recent reports indicate that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of, and concerned about, how potential tariffs might translate into higher prices for goods. This concern is even leading some consumers to consider “pulling purchases forward,” essentially buying things now to try and get ahead of anticipated price increases later.

Interestingly, recent retail sales figures from April showed growth, and part of that growth is attributed to consumers actively buying ahead specifically to mitigate the potential impact of future tariffs. Total retail sales (excluding automotive and gasoline) were up a solid 0.72% month-over-month and an impressive 6.76% year-over-year in April. While it’s true that consumer confidence is being affected by economic uncertainty related to tariffs and other global factors, fundamental consumer metrics like low unemployment, continued income growth, and generally healthy household finances currently remain intact. These factors continue to underpin consumers’ ability and willingness to spend. Even large, multinational companies like Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven which derives a significant portion of its sales from North America, are anticipating that the biggest impact won’t necessarily come from direct supplier cost increases alone, but rather from shifts in actual consumer behavior. They are already signaling a need to look even harder at their supply chains and work to squeeze costs tightly in this evolving environment.

What this means for retailers: This point, while perhaps less immediate than a promotional calendar, is crucial for strategic thinking. It highlights the essential need for retailers to be mindful of external economic factors that can influence how and when your customers choose to spend their money. While you certainly can’t control government trade policies like tariffs, understanding how the discussion and potential for tariffs might affect your customers’ purchasing decisions can give you valuable insight to anticipate potential changes and proactively adjust your own strategies. This could mean re-evaluating pricing strategies, highlighting value offerings, or preparing for potential shifts in demand or a heightened customer focus on getting the most bang for their buck. It’s all about staying informed and being agile enough to adapt.

The Bottom Line

And there you have it – The 5 For May 14th! Some very compelling insights and developments that are actively shaping our convenience store landscape right now.

What are your thoughts on these trends? Are you seeing similar shifts in foodservice focus, changes at the tobacco backbar, or interesting marketing tactics in your own market? Do you have strategies you’re implementing to prepare for potential economic shifts?

Let me know in the comments below – let’s keep the conversation going!

Until next time, stay safe and stay convenient!