Discover territory that remains unaltered in the wilderness of the Central Florida Everglades with a thrilling airboat ride to start your day. View the amazing wildlife Florida has to offer. Experienced captains take you into the breathtaking beauty of nature, including wetlands and wildlife. See alligators, turtles, birds and more in their natural environment. After your trip, stop by the Native American Village to learn about how they survived in this beautiful wetland.

7:00am - 7:30am - Check-in and Breakfast
7:30am - Bus Departure
8:15am - Airboat Tour
8:45am - Village Tour
11:00am- Arrive at Rosen Centre

What better way to see the latest innovations in c-store design and merchandising than to visit the stores themselves? CRU’s Store Tours Program takes attendees along on a curated agenda of store visits to see what some of the area’s top operators are doing. Participants will veiw strategies in action within key categories and experience signature features of each location. The consumer and retail space is evolving rapidly, and you can’t afford to miss out on this competitive learning opportunity.

8:00am - 8:30am - Check-in and Breakfast
8:30am - Bus Departure
8:30am - 11:30am - Store Tours
12:00pm - Arrive at Rosen Centre

Sign-up to enjoy a morning of some friendly competition with fellow attendees and try your hand at axe throwing. Axecelsior Axe Throwing will have their experienced coaches guiding you as you compete head to head with attendees to determine the best thrower!

7:30am - 8:00am - Check-in and Breakfast
8:00am - Bus Departure
8:30am - 11:30am - Axe Throwing
12:00pm - Arrive at Rosen Centre

How to Future-Proof Your Business and Win in a Remarkable New World! As we emerge from the most challenging business environment in modern history, the winners today are often those who have become remarkably easy to do business with. Being better tuned-in to the increasingly unique wants and needs of your customers and clients allows you to create better experiences and increase loyalty. In this timely, actionable and very entertaining presentation, popular Customer Experience expert David Avrin, CSP shines a light on the profound shift in customer expectation, while showing your team everyone’s role in eliminating barriers, engaging prospects and creating customer experiences worth sharing.

The pandemic accelerated digital transformation, migration to the cloud, and handing off tasks to technology thus propelling us forward into a new world of work where employees and customers have unprecedented power. Collectively this triggered “The Great Reset”, forcing a re-calibration of every aspect of our lives, perhaps most significantly the nature and act of work. Certainly, nearly two years of remote work has questioned the future of where work will take place for many, but more broadly, the past 23 months have also questioned: who works, what we do for work, how we work and how we measure that work, where we work, and, perhaps most acutely, why we work. From an examination of these shifts we stand on the precipice of the Human Capital Era, where the greatest investment we can make is in human potential. It is up to us to make the most of this tremendous opportunity.

Addressing underage access is a shared responsibility for manufacturers and retailers of age-restricted products. Technology can assist retailers with complying with federal ageverification laws and policies that aim to restrict underage access at the point-of-sale.

In this presentation, retailers will explore ways to incorporate technologically-based solutions to restrict underage access, and learn more about the growing momentum across retailers, trade associations, and legislation to improve retailer compliance and change how age-restricted products are sold.

You’ve worked hard to perfect your forecourt. It’s bright and beautiful, with modern fuel pumps and eye-catching advertising. But is a great first impression enough to entice shoppers to go out of their way to pull into your parking lot? Convenience store operators are increasingly finding themselves in competition with quick-serve restaurants and other retailers, all vying for the attention of a consumer that expects an effortless experience and personalized rewards. To earn lasting loyalty, brands need to think beyond the forecourt and the backcourt to reach consumers on any device, at any time, with messaging and offers that hit the mark. Join this session to learn how the same digital technologies that help restaurants and retailers win raving fans can take your marketing strategy from hunch to homerun.

Today’s consumers demand everything delivered fast, from great food to everyday items like ice cream, and household needs. And they demand it in 15 minutes or less. This offers a great opportunity for c-stores to add value and develop strong one-to one relationships, but to get there you must offer a unique value proposition. It’s not enough to deliver staple goods through a third-party aggregator.  How does a brand know when it’s ready to tackle this kind of challenge? In this talk, Paytronix CRO Charles Gray will address several key questions, including:  

•   Are third-party aggregators already leveraging your retail stock?  
•   What are the advantages to first or third-party ordering and delivery?  
•   How do you create a brand offering that’s right for the digital ordering channel?  
•   Who do you need to hire to meet the operational challenges inherent in order and delivery? 

Countless convenience operators are scaling back their foodservice offerings, eager to cut costs due to labor shortages and higher costs. But will cutting alone drive a customer-pleasing program?  We explore the dual approach of cutting where it makes sense, and investing to drive a distinctive offering that draws more customers and greater spend.