News

Show time at NACS

Fried food, salty snacks and, oh yeah, ATMs – all found at the NACS Show in New Orleans.

April 15, 2002

In a convention hall filled with pizza, Playmates and beer, it wasn't too difficult to laissez les bon temps roulez at the recent National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS)show in New Orleans.

Some impressions, from inside the convention center and out: 

Most cliché souvenir:A surprising number of booths handed out Mardi Gras beads, which could also be found in every gift store on Bourbon Street and plenty of other places as well. Attendees seemed to like them, however, with many of them hanging their name tags from the colorful strands.

Out with the old, in with the new:Card Capture Servicesdebuted its new identity, E*Trade ATM, as well as a snazzy new booth. Tidel's new is2000 is replacing the is1000 and the is6000. The result is a more flexible machine that can be configured with either a monochrome or color screen and from one to four cassettes. NCR's MCD is now called the EasyPoint 55. It's being joined by NCR's newest retail entry, the EasyPoint 53, a tiny, Pentium-powered machine that can be mounted on a countertop, hung on a wall or perched on a pedestal.

Still the "next big thing:"Full-motion video ATM advertisements, as seen in the booths of manufacturers Triton, Tidel and NCR and ISOs E*Trade ATM (running E*Trade ads, natch), Financial Technologies and Hanco Systems. Cash Resources, a Denver-area ISO, has created a new company called ConvenienTV that intends to market FMV-friendly LCDs that are designed to hang above the checkout lanes in retail environments.Whether it's on a topper or on the screen, whether it's accompanied by coupons or not, lots of people are making a major investment in this technology.

Most and fewest ATMs:Texas has a whopping 12,148 c-stores, according to NACS, 8,261 of which have ATMs. In second place is California, with 9,216 c-stores and 6,267 ATMs. The District of Columbia has just 76 c-stores, 52 with ATMs. Alaska barely makes it into triple digits with 137 c-stores, 93 with ATMs.

Room to grow:Unbelievably enough, it's Texas and California again. While these states have the most c-store ATMs, they also have the largest numbers of stores still lacking machines.

All locked up:The District of Columbia qualifies as the most "saturated" ATM market, with 52 of its 76 c-stores containing machines. Wyoming has 291 c-stores, 198 with ATMs. North Dakota has 300 c-stores, 204 with ATMs. With fewer retail sites to go around, deployers don't mess around.

Most common surcharge in New Orleans:The going rate at ATMs located in tourist-heavy locations like Bourbon Street shops and the convention center was $3.

Oh, grow up:If you have to smoke a chocolate or vanilla-flavored cigar like those on display in one booth, then you probably shouldn't be smoking at all. Ditto for the "spiked" lemonade served in the booths of several major liquor companies.

Cutest booth personnel:While one could make a case for the Playboy Playmates or Penthouse Pets, my vote goes to the puppies in the Ralston-Purina booth. After a full day of frolicking, the pooped pooches collapsed in a tired heap. I thought they would have to send in replacements for Day Two, but the same dogs reported to work.

Most disgusting novelty item:"Pull My Finger Fred," a stuffed likeness of an older gentleman that featured an all-too-realistic sound effect of someone breaking wind.

Grossest candy item:Puss Balls. They looked and tasted much like any other jawbreaker until one got to the center, which contained a glob of extremely sour stuff resembling – you guessed it – puss.

15 minutes and then some:The wha'ssup guys did a brisk business posing for photos at the Budweiser booth.

Location, location:The Penthouse booth was located just behind the Rich's Bakery booth, proving there's more than one way to serve hot buns.

Best mascot:Winkie the One-Eyed Crow, representing Nabisco's Corn Nuts. When I asked the Nabisco rep if Winkie's unfortunate condition was caused by a farmer enraged by the bird's attempts to steal his corn, he answered: "We don't know Winkie's life story."

Favorite booth giveaways:A candy dispenser from a company called Fantazzmo, which makes a variety of Rube Goldberg-esque devices that turn eating candy into an incredibly labor-intensive task – which kids apparently love. Mine is a lurid-looking head, and the candy comes out through a gap in its teeth. I also treasure my Boy Crazy! trading cards from a company called Decipher Specialty Products Group. According to Decipher, the cards feature photos and profiles of 363 real boys from around the world – like Tony, a 15-year-old Aries "hottie" from Virginia who describes himself as "funny, crazy and outgoing."

Best show amenities:A bag check, where attendees could leave their luggage under the care of several attendants and collect it right before catching a cab for the airport. Another winner was a restaurant reservations table, where attendees could snag a table for those "power meals." The entire show was remarkably well organized -- proving that the NACS folks know a thing or two about "convenience."

Most interesting observation:Sex not only sells, it drives Internet technology. That's according to Jimmy Flynt, Larry's nephew, working at the "Hustler" booth smack dab in the middle of the Technology Pavilion. Noting that "adult" material is the only content to date which large numbers of people will pay for on the Internet, Flynt said "Hustler" and other porn peddlers are pushing for better and speedier connections to offer their customers a better value.

Most useful product:Hangover Helper, which was no doubt appreciated by attendees who enjoyed New Orleans' charms to the fullest.

I just don't get it:A product called Hard "e," which combines a New Age-y energy drink with malt liquor. Won't the alcohol counteract any of the beverage's energizing effects?

Favorite ethnic food:The "Kung Pao Crawfish" dished up at a little French Quarter hole-in-the-wall near my hotel. I didn't get an opportunity to try a plate, but I wished I had.

Best Bourbon Street sign:At a club called Fat Daddy's, a neon sign promised "Women, Men, Topless, Bottomless" and -- as if that wasn't enough -- added "Moderate Prices" for good measure.