A customer stopping for lunch has a simple expectation: the food they want should be fresh, available and ready when they are. For the retailer, meeting that expectation means getting a series of decisions right before the customer walks through the door.

What should the store prepare? How much? When should the next batch start? What happens when demand changes?

At NACS 2026, foodservice, AI and connected technology all pointed back to those everyday questions. The opportunity is to make each customer visit more valuable while keeping the cost of delivering that experience under control.

Every trip has to count

The pressure behind those conversations is real. NACS research presented at the show found that in-store transactions fell 4.5% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, according to C-Store Dive’s reporting.

When visits decline, retailers have fewer opportunities to earn a sale. Getting customers through the door matters. So does making sure they can find what brought them there.

A customer who arrives for a sandwich and finds an empty display may choose something else. They may also leave without buying lunch. Either way, the retailer has missed an opportunity that stronger availability could have helped protect.

That makes forecasting, replenishment and production part of the growth conversation. These decisions shape whether a store can deliver on the promise that its assortment, promotions and foodservice program make.

The useful questions become more specific: Which items run out before the lunch rush ends? Where is excess production creating waste? Which locations need a different plan?

Fresh food brings opportunity and complexity

Foodservice’s prominence at NACS reflects its importance to convenience retail economics. The category accounted for 28.5% of in-store sales and 38.9% of in-store gross profit dollars in 2025, according to NACS.

Our team’s recap highlighted the breadth of the offer, from pizza and chicken to handheld meals, beverages and healthier options. Convenience retailers are giving customers more reasons to consider their stores as meal destinations.

Delivering that choice consistently takes discipline. An expanded menu creates more ingredients to manage, more preparation steps and more decisions about when food should be ready. Those demands also need to fit the equipment, space and staffing available at each location.

Preparing extra food can help keep a display full, but unsold product carries a cost. Reducing production can limit waste while leaving a store short during its busiest period.

Sales, availability and waste need to be viewed together. A stronger fresh program helps stores prepare quantities that reflect demand and adjust before an overproduction problem or an empty display develops.

AI has to reach the next decision

AI was another recurring theme in the team’s notes. For retailers evaluating its potential, the most useful starting point is the decision it will help someone make.

A forecast might indicate that demand for a prepared meal will rise. To create value, that information needs to reach production planning early enough for the store to respond. The ingredients need to be available, and associates need a clear understanding of what to prepare.

The same principle applies when demand falls. Earlier visibility can help a team adjust a later batch and avoid preparing food that is unlikely to sell.

This is where retailers can make AI investments more concrete. Start with a recurring problem, establish how the store handles it today and identify what should improve. Then measure whether the resulting decisions support better availability, less waste or less time spent on manual work.

A recommendation becomes useful when the store can act on it.

Connected information should make the work easier

The field team also identified integration as a major theme. That matters because store teams often carry the burden when systems do not connect.

An associate may need to check sales in one place, inventory in another and a production plan somewhere else. Before taking action, they have to reconcile the information themselves.

That effort takes time away from preparing food, replenishing shelves and serving customers. It also makes consistent execution harder as retailers add stores or expand their foodservice offer.

Connecting sales, inventory and production information can give teams a clearer path forward. A receiving discrepancy can inform what is available to prepare. A change in demand can inform the next production quantity. A potential shortage can reach the person who can address it.

For customers, the benefit is straightforward: a better chance of finding fresh food ready when they want it. For retailers, it means helping associates deliver that experience with less guesswork.

NACS 2026 put the opportunity for convenience retail on display. Turning that opportunity into profitable growth depends on the decisions made throughout the store, every day. At Upshop, that is the connection we focus on: helping teams use forecasting, inventory and fresh operations together to keep products available, reduce waste and make every visit count.