HIGHLIGHTS FROM IDEAS 2 GO DEMONSTRATE EASY AND FUN WAYS TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS. MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—Convenience retailers continue to redefine the concept of convenience and what it means to their customers. Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at NACS, recapped a handful of popular Ideas 2 Go videos at the NACS Leadership Forum last week.  The session shared highlights from forward-thinking retailers who over the years are innovating, delivering excitement with new ideas, and revolutionizing employee engagement and customer experiences. Easy and fun ways to engage customers and drive excitement can be as simple as showcasing local youth sports teams, incorporating pages from old high school yearbooks and old photos in store decor (recycle, reuse!), and using roulette wheels that offer free drinks, snacks and cents-off per gallon.  Lenard noted that our industry is unique in many ways, particularly its thirst for sharing information, which makes Ideas 2 Go a…

MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—“What’s between you and the goals you have for you and your business over the next year?” Among the biggest factors is simply the unknown, according to Sterling Hawkins, founder of Sterling Hawkins Group, who closed the 2023 NACS Leadership Forum on Feb. 10. While most people consider the unknown to be a challenge, Hawkins argued that the unknown is an opportunity. “It’s only within the unknown that you can realize your potential,” he said. Hawkins spoke from experience. He grew up a 5th generation retailer, having to master the intersection of technology and extreme competition. He launched a successful tech company that eventually collapsed, and the experience led him to rethink how to go to market with new ideas. He offered convenience retail industry thought leaders five tips to go from wanting something to willing it to happen, or as he called the concept, #NoMatterWhat. https://www.convenience.org/Media/Daily/2023/February/13/1-How-Embracing-Discomfort-Leads-Growth_NACS?

From flying taxis above Melbourne to fully-electric trucks delivering 24/7, the future is closer than you think. Back in 1962, The Jetsons was set in a fictional world where delivery drones and self-flying cars were fixtures of daily life. While that predicted reality hasn’t arrived yet, it may not be too far off, with mobility at the cusp of a huge transformation – on the ground and in the sky. As countries set bold targets for phasing out fossil fuels, an electrifying vision of the future is taking shape, and it has the potential to dramatically change how we live, work and travel. Rather than happening at some undetermined point down the road, groundwork is being laid right now, with many of the world’s top automotive and aerospace companies switching up design and manufacturing in favour of cleaner, greener technologies. Among them are Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Group and Ford, which have committed…

The last grocery delivery player standing, Milkrun, is making 20 per cent of its staff redundant as part of a move to consolidate its delivery hubs. The shakeup follows the collapse of its competitors Voly, Send and Quicko throughout 2022. Milkrun founder Dany Milham told staff that 20 per cent of roles were being cut on Wednesday. Josh Robenstone Voly – the most recent casualty to the tech correction – collapsed in November, having burnt through $13 million in 12 months. Milkrun staff were being told of the changes on Wednesday morning and were offered ongoing access to counselling and wellbeing services, in addition to their statutory payments and ex-gratia payments. “With economic and market conditions changing rapidly, we need to get ahead of the curve and evolve the way we operate to fit the current environment and extend our runway,” Milkrun founder and chief executive Dany Milham said in a message…

Australians can enjoy their Monte Carlo, Shapes and Kingston a little more guilt free after a new long term renewable energy agreement between publicly owned Stanwell Corporation and iconic biscuit maker, The Arnott’s Group. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today announced the eight-year clean energy deal from the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan’s pipeline of renewable projects for the biscuit factory in Virginia, in Brisbane’s north. “Arnott’s biscuits have been part of the fabric of Australian society for over 150 years, and an iconic Queensland manufacturer for the past 75 years,” the Premier said. “As we transition towards a clean energy future under our Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, we know more and more businesses are wanting to decarbonise their operations and offer consumers products made with lower emissions. “This eight-year deal for over 68GWh of renewable energy means Arnott’s are avoiding over 44,500 tonnes of CO2-e, the equivalent of taking 15,000…