Fuel stations and comfort shops  a retail phase with greater than $650 billion in gross sales are coming to phrases with a world the place fewer folks smoke, purchase gas or must ask for instructions. 

For a lot of their historical past, fuel stations and comfort shops, that are normally intertwined, have been small, typically unbiased companies a technique to understand the American dream. However the trade is slowly going company and lots of shops are discovering the previous sources of revenue are drying up.

The decline of cigarette smoking, the rise of GPS-enabled smartphones, the event of extra fuel-efficient autos, and different elements, are forcing fuel stations and comfort shops to rethink how they draw clients in.

Comfort shops are so widespread throughout the US that 93% of People reside inside only a few minutes of 1. One out of each three shops in America is a comfort retailer. And most of them promote gas. About 80% of comfort shops within the U.S. are additionally fuel stations, and...