WASHINGTON – Summertime means more freedom for kids and teens, which in turn can mean more students will be frequenting their local convenience or drug store. However, some retailers in the Washington, D.C., region haven’t been as welcoming to young people as others, posting signs to limit the number of teens in the store at one time or forbidding entry to those under the age of 18 without an adult.

Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at NACS, recently appeared on The Kojo Nnamdi Show to discuss the issue. Restricting entry to kids or teens isn’t “limited to convenience stores and drug stores,” he pointed out. “You also see this sometimes at malls … and restaurants. … I think it’s somewhat of a dated policy that you don’t see nearly as much as you used to because if you look at the customers that [retailers] want in the stores, it is the younger customer, the millennials and the future customer.”

Lenard reiterated that convenience retailers have other, more effective ways to address the problem those signs are aimed at. But he conceded that some stores still post such signs because “when you have a small format and an awful lot of people come in at the same time, [clerks are nervous] about shoplifting.”

In addition, Lenard focused on the role convenience stores have of bringing people together. “When you are in every neighborhood, it’s important to feel like you’re part of the neighborhood,” he told host Kojo Nnamdi. “We recommend for retailers to have discussions with people in the community, [asking them] what’s important to you and communicating how you give back to the community. … You want to create the glue that makes the community like you more, not like you less.”

You can listen to the entire segment here.