ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. convenience store industry had a very good year in 2015, with record in-store sales and profits. Retailers are also optimistic about their sales in 2016, both because of their enhanced food offer and broader consumer trends.

The latest “Convenience Matters” podcast looks at a few trends that made 2015 so successful and those that could impact the retail landscape this year.

Dae Kim, NACS vice president of research, discusses in the episode both the trends within the convenience retailing industry and the broader economic trends that affect the industry as a whole. 

“Can any other industry say its sales dropped by $100 billion yet they had a great year?” said podcast co-host Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. “And retail analysts project that convenience stores will be the strongest brick-and-mortar channel over the next five years. It was great to get insights into why the channel’s future continues to be so bright.”

Kim is the featured guest in this week’s podcast, “The State of the Industry Is…,” which can be downloaded on iTunes by searching for “Convenience Matters.” It also is available at www.nacsonline.com/podcasts.

A new “Convenience Matters” podcast will be released every week, focusing on topics related to convenience stores. NACS Daily announced the podcasts in late January.