Glossary

Average Transaction Size (ATS): The average number of items a customer purchases at a store. 

Average Transaction Value (ATV): The average amount spent per transaction a customer makes at a store. 

Basket size: Basket size refers to the total number of items a customer purchases in one transaction. 

Cashwrap: The cashwrap is the main checkout area of a physical retail business that includes the POS system and may include shelves or displays for impulse decision shopping. It is manned by a cashier and is where customers go to complete their purchases.  

Deadstock: Deadstock inventory is any inventory that has not been sold or used within a particular period. For most convenience products, items are considered deadstock if they have not sold for 90 days. 

Destination Product: A destination product describes the product a customer visits a store for. For example, at convenience stores, tobacco and lottery products are often destination products, though customers who visit stores for tobacco and lottery often buy additional products as well.  

Direct Store Operating Expenses (DSOE): The costs associated with running a retail store. These costs include wages and card swipe fees.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): EDI is a standardization of electronic formatting of business documents so they can pass from business to business with ease. EDI is used in the convenience industry particularly by vendors sending EDI invoices to retailers, who can accept them with the right back-office system. 

EuroPay MasterCard Visa (EMV): EMV technology is what powers chip and pin cards. Federal regulations mandate that all retailers use EMV compliant card readers to keep customer’s financial information secure. 

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG): ESG is a set of standards and criteria for a company’s behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments.  

First-In-First-Out (FIFO): FIFO is an inventory practice wherein products first acquired are the first sold. FIFO serves to help with inventory counting and, in the case of perishable goods, helps to manage spoilage.  

Forecourt: The forecourt of a fuel-selling convenience store refers to the physical location outside of the store that includes gas pumps, lighting, signage, and more.

Gross Profit Margin (GPM): GPM on an item is the percent of that item’s revenue that the retailer retains as profit after accounting for cost of the good. Calculated by using the formula (Revenue – CoGS) / Revenue, GPM is frequently expressed as a percentage.  

Jobber: A jobber is an independent individual or retailer who purchases fuel from the company that refined it and sells it to retailers, who offer it to their customers. 

Markdown: A markdown is the permanent devaluation of a product due to its inability to sell. Unlike promotions or other discounts, which are temporary, markdowns are intended to move inventory and make room for new products.

National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS): NACS is the international trade association for convenience stores. NACS serves the convenience and fuel industry through a variety of mediums, including an annual trade show, NACS magazine, community events, and more.

Point-of-sale (POS): At its most basic function, a POS system is a cash register. However, POS systems offer significantly more functionality. For example, many POS solutions serve as retail management systems that handle everything from sales and inventory to customer management and ecommerce. 

Rebate: A rebate is the return of part of the original payment for a particular item. Convenience stores most often receive rebates on tobacco items but are often eligible for rebate programs from other vendors as well.  

Risk Event: A risk event is a transaction in the point-of-sale system that does not result in a sale. These transactions (cancels, returns, price overrides) are high-risk for theft.

Scan Data: Scan Data is the data recorded by retailers when customers make purchases. Scan data programs are used for retailers to access manufacturer or distributor rebates, particularly on tobacco. 

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU): The unique alphanumeric identification number for a particular product to be used internally for a retailer to perform inventory and check stock levels. SKUs include information on all attributes of an item, such as size, color, and brand.   

Stockout: A situation in which an item is out of stock.

Shrink: Lost inventory, which leads to lost profit, due to theft from customers, employees, or vendors.  

Swipe Fees: Fees charged to a retailer by card networks (such as MasterCard and Visa) when a customer makes a purchase using a debit or credit card. These fees are often a percentage of the customer’s total purchase.

Universal Product Code (UPC): A multi-digit numeric code that is associated with one product for broad use among retailers. While SKUs are for internal use, UPCs are universal and printed onto products, in both digit and barcode form, by the manufacturer.  

Underground Storage Tank (UST): A UST is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that contains a hazardous material, such as petroleum. These tanks are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.  

Write-offs: A write off occurs when a product no longer has value to a retailer. Examples of inventory that can be subject to a write-off includes spoiled and damaged inventory.