NACS Convenience Retail Awards: Frequently Asked Questions

What are the NACS Convenience Retail Awards?
The NACS Convenience Retail Awards recognize and promote convenience retailing excellence and provides retailers with the opportunity to showcase their innovation and creativity to the global retailing community.

Who can enter the NACS Convenience Retail Awards?
Convenience and fuel retailers from the award regions may submit entries. Supplier partners and advertising, design and PR agencies are welcome to submit entries on behalf of their retail partners, but they must have the approval of the retailer for which they provide services.

What are the award regions?
NACS will offer Convenience Retail Awards in Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

• Latin America includes retailers from Mexico, Central America, and South America.
• ​Asia-Pacific includes the continent and islands of Asia, including India, New Zealand and Australia.
• Europe includes the entire European continent, from Iberia to the Caucasus and Scandinavia to Malta.

What are the award categories?
Convenience and fuel retailers can showcase their innovation and leadership in four prestigious award categories:

• Convenience Store of the Year
  Offered to the Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and European regions.
  Our global recognition honors the most innovative and successful convenience and petroleum store of the year. The winner earns the accolade of “the best convenience store in their region” This award honors flagship stores that break new ground and set new innovative standards for the industry. All-sized businesses can enter, and entries can refer to broader initiatives or format roll-outs in a wider business. Successful entries will focus on one particular store as the central showpiece.

  • Who will win: The nominated company who best demonstrates the success of a specific retail location from their portfolio. Entries will be scored across the areas of overall format innovation, technology installation, diverse products/offers, people development, customer service, overall performance and relevance.

• Convenience Industry Leader of the Year
  Offered to the Asia-Pacific and European regions.
  Industry progress is not only driven by innovative companies, but by the energies, determination and inspiration of the individuals who lead them. This award recognizes and honors the contribution of the most successful and influential convenience industry leader of past year.

  • Who will win: The nominated individual who best personified excellence, dedication, and influence in the convenience retail community from the past year.

• Convenience Cares Award 
  Offered to the Asia-Pacific and European regions.
  This award recognizes a retail company that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to doing good —whether customers, employees, communities, or the environment. This award honors meaningful initiatives that reflect compassion, social responsibility, and a genuine dedication to improving communities while creating positive, lasting impact.

  • Who will win: The nominated retail company that best demonstrates a meaningful commitment to doing good through impactful initiatives benefiting customers, employees, communities, and the environment.

• Convenience Innovation of the Year Award 
  Offered to the Asia-Pacific and European regions.
  This award recognizes a convenience or fuel retail brand that transforms the convenience retail experience. This award celebrates creativity, fresh thinking, and real impact—honoring innovations that make convenience stores more efficient, engaging, and future-ready.

  • Who will win: The nominated convenience or fuel retail brand that best demonstrates innovative thinking and transformative solutions that enhance efficiency, customer engagement, and the future readiness of the convenience retail experience.

Are there any fees for entering?
There are no fees to enter the NACS Convenience Retail Awards.

What are the important dates for the awards program?

What are the entry requirements?

Who are the judges?
Each year, a grand jury panel of industry experts consisting of former retail executives, consultants, subject-matter-experts, and NACS representatives judge the award winners based on criteria specified for each award.

How are award winners selected?
Convenience retailers, their suppliers or their customers are invited to nominate convenience retailers that are pursuing noteworthy and meaningful business initiatives. In each confidential submission, the advocating organization should share a proven business case. The judges use a rubric consisting of the criterion below to evaluate all submissions and select an award winner from each award category.

Convenience Cares and Innovation of the Year Awards will be scored on:

• Leadership and management of the initiative
• Customer engagement with the solution
• Impact of the initiative on organizational performance, financial performance or the customer experience
• Degree of creativity, uniqueness and innovation exemplified by the initiative 

Convenience Store of the Year will be scored on demonstrated excellence in:

• Format Innovation
• Technology/loyalty/payments
• Product Range
• People Development (HR)
• Customer Service Initiatives
• Results/Performance
• General Impression & Relevance

Industry Leader of the Year will be determined by:

• Impact the individual has had on organizational performance, financial profitability, and the customer experience
• Influence the individual has had on improving the convenience retailing industry overall
• Demonstrated commitment to their community

What tips should I keep in mind for developing a “winning” awards entry?
Convenience retailers, their suppliers or their customers are invited to nominate convenience retailers that are pursuing noteworthy and meaningful business initiatives. In each confidential submission, the advocating organization should share a proven business case. The submission must include supporting justification as to:

• Why the convenience retailer deserves to be recognised
• ​What makes the initiative truly innovative and differentiated
• How leadership and management of the initiative is conducted
• How the retailer has demonstrated a company-wide commitment to the initiative
• What the impact of the initiative has been to organizational performance, financial profitability or the customer experience
• How customers have interacted with the solution

While fun, the submission development process can take time to complete. So, begin early. You will need to collect and provide photos and evidence that will make your submission stand out from the competition. Keep in mind that only complete submissions will be judged.

There are other industry award programs, why should we enter the NACS Convenience Retail Awards? What are the benefits?
The NACS Convenience Retail Awards program is recognised by your peers and partners across the globe for its prominence and selectiveness. An award win heightens your credibility as an industry leader and elevates your brand’s profile as an innovative trailblazer.

Whether you win or are one of our esteemed participants, you will receive unparalleled global exposure and visibility through trade, national and international media coverage. Winners will receive:

• Recognition in NACS and Insight Research social, print and digital publications, which collectively reach an audience of 50,000+ global retailers, and various industry trade publications to extend the news even further.
• International press release announcing all award winners.
• Recognition at the NACS Show.
• And most importantly, celebrating your victory with global retailers, suppliers and colleagues at the Awards Reception!