Convenience stores are playing catch-up as they jump into retail media, exploiting their local reach to offer advertisers new ways to connect with shoppers. The brick-and-mortar landscape is highly fragmented—unlike ecommerce, where just a few players dominate. That provides an opening for convenience stores to become valued retail media partners. Their dense footprints, frequent visits, and strong ability to influence impulse buys can give brands targeted and measurable insights. C-store RMNs that can tie ad exposure to sales, use loyalty data, and offer multiple ways to surface ads are best positioned to deliver reliable performance to advertisers.

7-Eleven is making bold moves that contradict retail wisdom, expanding its footprint despite declining same-store sales and traffic. "It's not that they're opening a ton of new stores, it's just they're rejigging their footprint," said our analyst Blake Droesch on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”

Consumers in Japan have been slow to embrace digital technology, but they are gradually warming to it. Recent data shows consumers are changing their online shopping and media consumption behavior.

The news: Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard has dropped its bid to buy Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, casting doubt on whether the 7-Eleven operator’s planned US IPO will proceed, Bloomberg reported. Our take: As 7-Eleven continues efforts to strengthen its core business, the failed takeover bid offers lessons for retailers and brands. Decisions involving globally recognized brands should be strategic, not reactive. Retailers must maintain flexibility to revisit IPO or spin-off plans as business circumstances change.

Alimentation Couche-Tard is determined to buy 7-Eleven parent Seven & i amid c-store headwinds: The two companies are discussing divestitures, but antitrust concerns could scuttle the deal.

Convenience matters, but today's cost-conscious consumers demand quality too. This shift forces marketers to rethink convenience's role in purchase decisions. Both online and physical retailers prioritize seamless experiences, but with different challenges. Brick-and-mortar stores struggle to deliver convenience, while ecommerce faces growing price sensitivity. Here are five key stats that reveal how consumers view convenience in 2025.

There's no shortage of lessons for retailers, advertisers, and brands to learn from an eventful 2024, where many sectors of retail thrived even as economic anxiety affected consumer habits.

In November, retailers made strategic moves across grocery, apparel, and beauty. Amazon turned Black Friday into a weeklong event and launched its Shein competitor, Haul. Meanwhile, e.l.f. Beauty strengthened its value proposition through a new Dollar General partnership, while Kroger announced plans for specialized Asian experience stores in North Texas. Here are our eight unofficial picks for the most interesting retailers in November.

7-Eleven plans to open 115 larger-store formats by year-end, offering customers an expanded assortment of food options. The retailer also plans to add 51 new fresh food SKUs by the end of 2025.

Instacart, CVS, 7-Eleven see opportunity in in-store retail media: All three expanded ad capabilities in response to surging advertiser demand.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss why mega-pharmacies are struggling, why 7-Eleven is closing and opening a lot of stores, and what the new model of convenience will look like. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson and Senior Analysts Blake Droesch and Rajiv Leventhal.

7-Eleven to open 500 larger, food-focused stores by 2027: The struggling c-store chain hopes that more food options and a larger product assortment will restore traffic and sales.

Sensei raises $16 million in seed round: The retail tech provider has its sights set on bringing automated, contactless stores to Europe.

7-Eleven to close nearly 450 North America stores as it struggles to adapt to shoppers’ shifting c-store habits: The retailer is also investing in digital and loyalty programs and improving its food options to win back customers.

Retailers with ties to China, like Temu and TikTok Shop, have gained popularity in the US. Now, a wave of Japanese-based retailers and retail concepts has come to the US, signaling a potential shift for the retail landscape.

Retailers invest in last-mile fulfillment as shoppers clamor for convenience: Growing ecommerce business has led companies to revamp their brick-and-mortar footprints and adopt autonomous delivery methods.

Our annual lookahead for Canada highlights some growth areas for brand marketers as well as the mediascape that’s evolving to serve them.

Weeks after China lifted its lockdown restrictions placed months ago to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, there’s a sliver of hope for the country’s retail sector.

From 1-hour delivery to drive-thru grocery pickup to offering myriad payment methods, convenience rules for the modern shopper. But when it comes to actual convenience stores, one of the only things going for them is being in the right place at the right time.

Doom and gloom often surrounds discussion of brick-and-mortar retail. It's hard not to see the demise of traditional stores like Sears and Toys 'R' Us as bellwethers for the industry. Many stores are closing locations but is it as dire as it seems on the surface?