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Inside the 2026 NACS Show: Self-checkout, smart vending, and the rise of the autonomous convenience hub

The 2026 NACS Show highlighted the growing convergence of convenience retail, vending and self-service technology. From AI-powered checkout and smart coolers to automated beverage dispensers and connected fuel pumps, exhibitors demonstrated how automation can improve efficiency, expand services and create new revenue opportunities.

Image courtesy NACS

October 19, 2026 by Ben Wheeler — Dir. of Business Dev. - Automated Retail, T-ROC

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The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show has solidified its position as a critical cross-industry event, drawing deep attention from the automated merchandising community. For Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times readers, the annual exposition highlights a massive convergence: the traditional convenience store is rapidly transforming into a highly integrated, unstaffed retail hub. Driven by a persistent labor crunch and shifting consumer demands, the c-store industry is adopting technology straight from the vending playbook, scaling up micro-markets, interactive kiosks, and smart vending machines.

The unifying force across this year's top tech exhibitors is a heavy push toward unattended retail architectures. By blending automated retail vending, self-service kiosks, dynamic digital signage, and advanced forecourt automation, these innovators are reshaping the customer journey. Whether a consumer is purchasing a freshly blended fitness shake from a smart machine or authorizing a transaction at an unstaffed fuel pump, automated systems are stripping friction out of the modern retail environment.

The self-checkout and micro-market revolution

• Toast: Known for dominating restaurant POS ecosystems, Toast bridges the gap between made-to-order foodservice counters and unattended retail with "Toast Fuel," enabling friction-free checkout loops that require fewer frontline employees.
• 365 Retail Markets: A pioneer in workplace dining, 365 Retail Markets showcases how its standalone self-service kiosks and smart coolers allow operators to deploy completely unstaffed satellite micro-markets inside corporate environments.
• Fujitsu Frontech Self-Check Out (GK): A global giant in self-service technology, Fujitsu Frontech supplies heavy-duty self-checkout systems equipped with quick-scanning modules and intuitive interfaces optimized for high-volume grab-and-go baskets.
• Madic Self-Check-out: Specializing in transit, energy, and retail systems, Madic Group delivers unstaffed checkout installations designed to smoothly blend fuel payment workflows with in-store merchandise sales.
• POS Bank: Providing sleek, space-saving terminal architecture, POS Bank engineers interactive kiosk systems that allow c-store operators to install flexible self-checkout lanes even within highly restrictive floor plans.
• PARTNER Tech: A key manufacturer of rugged point-of-sale hardware, Partner Tech creates modular, tactile self-service kiosks and touch monitors tailored specifically to withstand heavy daily use in high-traffic retail environments.
• ECRS Self Check Out: Driven by their powerful CATAPULT system, ECRS provides friction-free self-checkout points that sync localized inventory, customer loyalty accounts, and multi-lane payments onto a single unstaffed platform.
• Glory Global – Acrelec – Mashgin: This powerhouse trifecta merges Glory's automated cash handling and Acrelec's enterprise kiosks with Mashgin's touchless, computer-vision AI checkout, allowing customers to ring up items instantly without scanning a single barcode.
• National Retail Solutions (NRS) NRS Pay: Catering explicitly to independent operators, National Retail Solutions pairs an affordable checkout terminal with its custom merchant network (NRS Pay) to bring enterprise automation to neighborhood shops.

Smart cash validation & closed-loop hardware

• SESAMI Drop Safes: Providing the physical anchor for cash automation, Sesami designs smart, connected drop safes that automatically validate, count, and secure currency right at the point of sale, feeding data directly to the cloud.
• Kisan America – Cash Counters: Eliminating human counting errors, Kisan America manufactures heavy-duty currency discriminators and counters that streamline back-office workflows, ensuring self-service kiosks are quickly audited.
• Conexxus – Cash Handling: As the convenience industry's technology standards body, Conexxus defines data protocols that enable cash-handling hardware, unstaffed kiosks, and forecourt pumps from different brands to communicate seamlessly.
• AMSEC Cash Management Solutions: American Security Products (AMSEC) engineers high-tech smart safes that tie directly into a store's network, giving retailers real-time data on cash volumes deposited by self-checkout systems.
• ARMOR Safe Technologies: Armor Safe Technologies manufactures closed-loop cash validation systems that secure currency inputs from retail lanes, reducing internal shrinkage while streamlining end-of-day bank reporting.
• Data Logic: Serving as the brain behind the hardware, Datalogic builds back-office business intelligence software and imaging scanners that monitor inventory trends, sales spikes, and diagnostic health for automated checkout lanes.
• Loomis: Bridging physical security and digital banking, Loomis provides SafePoint smart safes and armored transport, integrating with a store's unstaffed sales data to secure electronic bank credit before cash even leaves the premises.
• SSCS Cash Handling: Service Station Computer Systems (SSCS) delivers foundational back-office software that tracks every penny processed across fuel dispensers, vending hubs, and self-checkout terminals.

Next-gen vending, dispensing, and touch screens

• ELO Touch: Elo Touch Solutions manufactures the touchscreen infrastructure underpinning modern self-service. Their highly responsive displays power food-ordering kiosks and self-checkout lanes worldwide.
• MicroTouch: A leading developer of interactive touch monitors, MicroTouch supplies high-definition, durable capacitive glass displays optimized for specialized retail checkouts and unstaffed ticketing setups.
• Glanbia – Optimum Nutrition: Protein Shake Maker: Glanbia introduces automated retail vending to the fitness space with an interactive kiosk that dispenses freshly mixed, chilled Optimum Nutrition protein shakes on demand.
• Skittles Remix: Infusing entertainment into candy sales, Mars' Skittles Remix is an automated blending kiosk where customers use a touchscreen interface to mix and match their favorite candy flavors into a customized pouch.
• Bucked Up: Capitalizing on the high-margin energy category, Bucked Up utilizes specialized automated vending and smart coolers to reliably dispense its high-performance supplements and pre-workout drinks.
• Meet Joey Nicotine Pouch Kiosk: Addressing the compliance challenges of age-restricted items, the automated kiosk from Joey uses secure identification scanning to safely handle unstaffed, age-verified sales right on the retail floor.
• Stacker 2 Dirty Soda: Tapping directly into the viral "dirty soda" trend, this automated beverage kiosk from Stacker allows users to craft and dispense custom, layered soda creations via an interactive flavor panel.

The digital forecourt: Fuel pump automation

• Gilbarco Veeder-Root: An industry titan, Gilbarco Veeder-Root leads the charge in pump automation with interactive Encore fuel dispensers that act as outdoor self-service kiosks, complete with secure payment modules and media screens.
• Wayne Fueling Systems: Part of Dover Fueling Solutions, Wayne designs smart fuel dispensers that merge payment security with engaging user interfaces, allowing drivers to buy items right from the pump lanes.
• Owl Fuel Pumps: Focusing heavily on commercial fleets, Owl Fuel Management Systems develops unstaffed fuel management terminals that authorize distribution entirely through smart badges or mobile tokens without an attendant.
• SPATCO Energy Solutions:SPATCO Energy Solutions deploys turnkey, automated energy infrastructure that handles traditional petroleum fueling alongside Level 3 EV fast-charging stations.
• Simplify Fuels and Power Management: Simplify offers cloud-based logistics and wetstock automation, managing real-time fuel inventory levels underground and power consumption grids across EV charging arrays 24/7.

Digital out-of-home media and IoT retail infrastructure

• Crew Retail Media: Crew Retail Media turns self-service touchpoints into active ad networks, serving dynamically targeted promotions and programmatic advertising across fuel pumps and in-store checkout kiosks.
• AT&T Business Connected Solutions: (Sensors for Retail): Providing the Internet of Things (IoT) backbone, AT&T Business connects hardware via high-speed cellular networks to monitor self-service kiosk health and cooler conditions.
• Sunshine Signs: Blending physical wayfinding with modern retail, Sunshine Signs manufactures directional environments that guide c-store customers toward automated spaces like EV chargers and self-checkout bays.
• Dualite Digital Signage: Dualite builds high-visibility, commercial-grade outdoor digital price signs and LED message centers that sync directly with databases to display real-time fuel pricing adjustments.
• DOOHIT Tole Digital Signage: Engineered by PWM and showcased via Tole Digital Signage, DOOH-IT is a dedicated gas station digital-out-of-home advertising platform that transforms standard displays into cloud-managed ad real estate.

Automated outdoor and utility solutions

• Certus Air Stations: Representing the frontline of roadside self-service, Certus provides advanced, unstaffed tire inflation and vacuum islands featuring integrated secure card readers and contactless payment.
• CSC Tire Air Pumps: CSC ServiceWorks builds automated, heavy-duty digital air towers that precisely regulate tire pressure via self-contained, revenue-generating payment terminals.
• Cleanshield:Washer Fluid Dispense Kiosk: Moving past plastic jug waste, Cleanshield provides automated, eco-friendly forecourt bulk dispensers that allow drivers to fill their windshield washer reservoirs right at the pump lanes.
• ICS Squeekers AutoShine & TurtleWax Pro: This automated car wash platform integrates professional Turtle Wax Pro chemicals with ICS digital control kiosks, letting customers choose premium wash tiers at an unstaffed entrance terminal.
• PDQ LASERWASH: An industry standard in touchless car washes, PDQ Manufacturing systems rely on automated entry bay kiosks to upsell premium cycles and read loyalty barcodes without an attendant on site.
• Micrologic Wash Central: Micrologic develops the overarching transactional architecture for car wash systems, delivering rugged outdoor payment kiosks and cloud-based tracking software that unifies wash subscriptions.

Conclusion: The future of convenience is automated, connected, and everywhere

The biggest takeaway from the NACS Show is clear: The convenience store of tomorrow will no longer be defined by four walls, a checkout counter, or the number of employees working behind it. Instead, it will be defined by how effectively technology delivers products and services to consumers whenever and wherever they need them.

From AI-powered self-checkout and intelligent vending machines to automated food and beverage dispensing, connected fuel pumps, and digital retail media, the technologies showcased at NACS demonstrate that automated retail is no longer a standalone solution. It is becoming an integral part of the convenience retail ecosystem.

For retailers, the opportunity extends far beyond reducing labor costs. Automation creates new revenue streams, extends operating hours, improves transaction efficiency, and allows operators to introduce products and services without expanding their traditional retail footprint. For technology providers and automated retail operators, the convergence of these solutions opens the door to new partnerships, deployment opportunities, and scalable business models.

However, the real winners will not necessarily be those deploying the most technology. They will be the operators who successfully integrate payment systems, connectivity, inventory management, remote monitoring, security, and customer experience into reliable, profitable operations.

The next generation of convenience retail will not simply be unattended. It will be intelligent, interconnected, and increasingly autonomous.

And perhaps the most important message coming out of NACS is this: Automated retail is no longer just an alternative way to sell products. It is becoming a fundamental part of how the entire convenience industry will operate, compete, and grow.

About Ben Wheeler

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Ben Wheeler, known as The KioskGuy, is a long time kiosk industry executive who assists companies with kiosk solutions.

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