Want a fast way to catch up on the latest trends and news from across the fuel and convenience industry? Watch the May Connections Live Quarterly webinar! 

Three of PDI’s top industry experts shared their insights and answered participants’ questions in the latest installment of our quarterly live event. Here’s a summary of what they covered. 

Convenience industry snapshot 

PDI CMO Bethany Allee highlighted some fascinating statistics and evolving consumer behaviors from the 2025 “Pulse of Convenience” report. 

She covered areas such as how the price of fuel impacts both fuel and in-store trips, and she explained why prepared foodservice is such a powerful growth opportunity for operators. 

Bethany also noted that with 58% of c-store operators bullish on their business outlook for 2025, continued investment in digital transformation remains a business imperative for growth and differentiation. 

Lastly, Bethany addressed the top business concerns for both chains and independent operators: staffing challenges and labor costs. To learn more about these workforce trends, download our latest guide, “Staffing Success: The C-Store Workforce Guide.”  

Be sure to follow Bethany (@CStoreCMO) on X. 

GasBuddy travel forecast and other news 

In the second segment of the webinar, Patrick De Haan , VP and Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, shared the latest updates from GasBuddy and previewed the 2025 travel season. 

With GasBuddy celebrating its 25^th anniversary as one of the most trusted platforms for consumers looking for the best gas prices, c-store reviews, and offers, Patrick highlighted findings from the GasBuddy 2025 Summer Travel Survey. 

Predictions for the summer season include lower average US gas prices in 2025 ($3.08) compared to 2024 ($3.58). In fact, the forecast cited the lowest inflation-adjusted summer gas prices since 2003. Check out the survey details here. 

You can watch more of Patrick on “What’s up at the pump?” or follow him (@gasbuddyguy) on X. 

Retail threat landscape 

In the third segment of the webinar, Dan Hoban, EVP, Field Services, covered the broader cybersecurity threat landscape with insights from the PDI Q1 2025 Threat Landscape Report. 

One key item to note for c-stores is that retail jumped from the eighth-most targeted sector to the fourth-most targeted industry sector between 2024 and 2025. Much of that rise was driven by a sudden surge in ransomware attacks—up by nearly 75% from Q4 2024. 

To help address the spike in ransomware, Dan noted the increasing value of ongoing security awareness training to keep all employees prepared, a method shown to help reduce phishing clicks by up to 50%. 

You can hear more from Dan on the recent “SOCaaS and AI: The Power Duo for Predictive Cybersecurity” webinar. 

Register now for Connections Live 2025!

Don’t miss the industry’s premier training and networking event—join us for all the action in Denver, CO from August 24-27.

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In today’s fast-paced convenience and fuel retail industry, your business is constantly facing changes and new challenges. From shifting consumer behaviors to breakthrough technology and stiffer competition, the effort to maintain your business edge can feel like an uphill battle. 

That’s why “Connecting Convenience” is more than just a tagline for PDI. To us, connecting convenience means providing you with the solutions and tools to boost productivity, make smarter decisions, and engage more effectively with your customers. 

We’re continually investing in innovative solutions and services that streamline core business operations to further increase your profitability—whether you’re running a single location or managing a national retail chain. 

Today, much of the industry recognizes PDI for our Enterprise solution, which has provided a reliable technology foundation for fuel and convenience retailers across the decades. But did you know that we deliver a lot more than ERP software? You can now go well beyond ERP with over 30 different PDI solutions designed to help you secure your business, engage consumers faster, enhance your customer experience, and unlock the full potential of your data. 

More than ERP: A fully integrated retail ecosystem 

If you’re like many convenience retailers who already know and use PDI Enterprise, the good news is that these additional offerings integrate seamlessly with it! 

You not only get the benefits of each solution—you benefit from the collective advantage of working with a single vendor, leveraging systems your IT team already knows, and building on a rock-solid technology foundation. 

The result? Greater efficiency and higher productivity to streamline your operations while opening new growth opportunities for your business. For instance, with PDI Retail Site Management, you can leverage enhanced capabilities like PDI Enterprise Foodservice and Next-Generation Lottery Tracking. 

Or, if you’re thinking about upgrading to Electronic Shelf Labels, PDI offers the only solution that’s fully integrated with both Enterprise and Pricebook. This level of integration creates exciting new ways to expand your in-store digital media, strengthen your loyalty program, and create a good base for your retail media network strategy. 

There’s a PDI solution for each business goal 

No matter the size of your business or your progress on your digital transformation journey, PDI helps convenience retailers succeed in a variety of ways. We’ll help you: 

• Secure your business: Strengthen security for all aspects of your business to protect your key assets and customers. 

• Engage consumers more effectively: Use targeted tools to connect with your customers at every touchpoint on their own terms. 

• Elevate your customer experience: Create seamless, engaging experiences in-store and beyond. 

• Turn insights into action: Unlock the value of your data and analytics to build impactful engagement strategies. 

• Expand your brand: Amplify your brand and solutions to reach new markets and customers. 

• Supplement your team: Leverage PDI professional services expertise to fill gaps and enhance your operations. 

Leveraging PDI’s powerful, integrated solutions as the backbone of your convenience ecosystem, you can feel confident that your business will be ready for whatever comes next. 

Explore Now or Connect with an Expert

Contact our experts to discuss how PDI can help your business far beyond ERP—today and well into the future.

Explore now

Securing Restaurant Networks

KBP Inspired worked with PDI Security Solutions experts to:

• Offload network management activities
• Modernize its network technology
• Simplify its business operations

Business Challenges

• Inconsistency with network services due to multiple security and network vendors
• Reliance on legacy hardware that complicated IT management
• Limited visibility over site issues, traffic monitoring, and data usage

Solution Overview – PDI Network Management Solutions

PDI Network Management Solutions, including PDI Firewall as a Service, provide highly distributed businesses with a fully managed network security solution. Key capabilities include a cloud-based network platform, automated 4G wireless backup, tools to support PCI compliance, and optional Wi-Fi and 5G Internet services.

Read more about PDI Network Management Solutions

Customer Results

• Improved Wi-Fi services to deliver a better guest experience
• Introduced next-generation 5G primary Internet services
• Consolidated network management under a single vendor

Facing continued consolidation and greater competition from other sectors, fuel and convenience retailers must increase their agility to keep pace with rapid transformation across the industry. Even if that goal is clear, achieving it comes with unique obstacles and challenges.

PDI has a global mission of “Connecting Convenience” and we accomplish this by delivering new solutions and services that streamline operations and improve profitability for all sizes of retailers, along with the CPG brands that collaborate with them.

Our intent is to help you modernize your business, converge your technology investments, and innovate faster to gain a competitive advantage. To understand how this strategy can help your business, we invite you to explore the latest PDI news and highlights, including:

• Cybersecurity advancements with Nuspire
• New offerings to unlock the power of data
• PDI Enterprise Electronic Shelf Labels ecosystem
• Record-setting engagement at Connections Live 2024
• A growing presence at NACS Show 2024

Cybersecurity advancements with Nuspire

When PDI acquired Nuspire in June of 2024, the goal was to introduce even more advanced cybersecurity expertise and solutions to the fuel and convenience industry. With over 25 years of experience and more than 2,500 businesses served, Nuspire offers deep expertise across a wide range of industries.

In particular, the addition of Nuspire allows PDI to deliver more customized security solutions based on sector-specific knowledge. The Nuspire cybersecurity experience is a holistic approach to security that combines deep expertise, cutting-edge AI capabilities, and state-of-the-art technology based on three key pillars:

1. The myNuspire Platform: A single pane of glass that offers a panoramic view of your entire security landscape with customizable, persona-based dashboards that deliver real-time intelligence at your fingertips.
2. Nutron AI Assistant: A context-aware tool that’s designed to streamline operations, offer instant intelligence, and soon, be able to proactively inform you about security events and their implications.
3. Nuspire Mobile App: A versatile app that helps you stay connected to industry news, access real-time service updates, and collaborate with your team on the go. View a demo.

To learn more about these and other cybersecurity advancements, be sure to sign up for the next PDI and Nuspire cybersecurity webinar on October 30, 2024.

New offerings to unlock the power of data

Fuel and convenience retail data remains some of the most sought-after information that multiple types of businesses use to analyze industry trends, consumer behaviors, and rich transaction-level details.

Leveraging newly available PDI data solutions and services can help you address ongoing challenges while revealing high-value opportunities that improve both ROI and profitability. For example:

• CPG brands can use transaction-level data and insights to develop more targeted marketing strategies and optimize product placement to increase both sales and market share.
• Financial institutions can enhance their risk assessment models and better detect fraudulent activities to strengthen transaction security and reduce loss.
• Retailers can benefit from comprehensive location intelligence, improve decision making around site selection, and continually refine pricing strategies to maximize profitability.
• Data aggregators can enrich their datasets with extensive fuel and convenience store insights, gaining a competitive advantage while opening new market opportunities.

Whether you want to dive deeper into the latest consumer trends or improve your ability to deliver personalized offers, you can explore data solutions for:

• Convenience Consumer 360
• C-Store Merchandise Sales
• C-Store Fuel Sales
• C-Store Shopper Performance
• Retail Fuel Prices
• Retail Fuel Site Attributes

Learn more about PDI data solutions and services here.

PDI Enterprise Electronic Shelf Labels ecosystem

If paper-based pricing updates are consuming too much time and staff resources, PDI Electronic Shelf Labels can quickly increase your operational efficiency and profitability. Automating this labor-intensive task can free you up to focus on customer engagement while delivering a fast ROI.

Fully integrated with PDI Enterprise and Pricebook, Electronic Shelf Labels help you maximize your back-office investment with modern technology that saves time and reduces complexity. You can benefit by deploying price updates, product details, and even relevant discounts and images directly to your shelves in a matter of minutes.

This solution can provide an immediate path to enhance your in-store digital media ecosystem with targeted pricing and promotions while serving as a key component for your long-term retail media network strategy. It can also provide a way to improve your bottom line, increase your margins, and deliver a better in-store experience for your customers.

Learn more about PDI Electronic Shelf Labels.

Record-setting engagement at Connections Live 2024

During the recent Connections Live event in Washington, DC, we welcomed over 1,000 attendees from the fuel and convenience industry who gathered to share best practices and discuss the latest trends and technologies.

As part of this premier training and networking event, attendees enjoyed new sessions for CPG brands, an industry leadership track, and even a “speed networking” session to help them make more 1:1 connections.

We also announced that Connections Live 2025 will take place in Denver, Colorado from August 24 to 27, 2025. You can now pre-register for the event to keep up with the latest news and gain priority access when registration officially opens in 2025.

Let’s connect!

If you want to learn more about how PDI can help your business thrive, contact us.

Join the Next Cybersecurity Webinar

Discover how to protect your business with the latest cybersecurity updates from PDI and Nuspire. Sign up now for the live webinar on October 30, 2024.

Strengthening Cybersecurity

Working with PDI Security Solutions experts, RTS:

• Strengthened its cybersecurity posture
• Sped up threat detection and incident response
• Modernized security offerings for its clients

Business Challenges

• An increasingly sophisticated global cyberthreat landscape
• A lack of specifically trained cybersecurity resources and expertise

Solution Overview – PDI Cybersecurity Solutions

PDI cybersecurity solutions, including PDI XDR and MDR, provide businesses with a fully managed option to help prevent sophisticated cyberattacks. These advanced services include continuous monitoring along with real-time threat detection and response from a 24/7/365 Security Operations Center staffed by highly trained security experts.

Read more about PDI Cybersecurity Solutions

Customer Results

• Delivered fully managed network and endpoint protection
• Enabled 24/7/365 continuous monitoring, detection, and response
• Freed up clients to focus on their core business operations

Secure your business with help from the experts

Cybersecurity has become a full-time job. But it doesn’t necessarily need to be your job. When you don’t have the internal resources or expertise to adequately protect your business, turn to the cybersecurity experts.

With a comprehensive suite of fully managed cybersecurity and network security services, you can get the cost-effective protection you need for even the most highly distributed environments.

As breakthrough technologies and changing consumer behaviors rapidly transform the fuel and convenience ecosystem, PDI continues to invest in new solutions, collaborations, and programs that advance innovation across the entire industry. These offerings extend a wide range of advantages to fuel wholesalers, convenience retailers, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, and consumers around the globe.

The latest highlights include:

• Multiple new PDI product offerings and enhancements
• A strategic alliance with Square 9 Softworks
• A reseller agreement with Kii Corporation
• An improved experience for PDI University users

Watch videos about the latest PDI offerings and then explore all of our new solutions, collaborations, and programs.

Explore All Offerings

Enterprise productivity gains

• PDI Warehouse Mobility: Increase operating efficiency and accuracy by utilizing an API for handheld technologies that can access real-time data to support a wide range of inventory-related tasks.

Security enhancements

• PDI Virtual Application Delivery Console: Increase visibility when deploying business applications across diverse networks with secure VPN technology that encrypts traffic from remote sites—helping to ensure compliance with PCI and Conexxus standards.
• PDI XDR Active Directory Protection: Quickly identify potential vulnerabilities in on-premise Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Azure Active Directory software through the cloud-based PDI XDR cybersecurity solution, which helps prevent cyberattacks as part of a fully managed security service.

GasBuddy expansion for CPGs

• GasBuddy Reward Codes: Expand loyalty program redemption options so CPG brands can include GasBuddy gas back rewards, enabling brands to build loyalty with a larger number of consumers who are making c-store purchases.

Sustainability consulting services

• PDI Sustainability Consulting: Leverage proven expertise and customized solutions to meet corporate sustainability objectives and government regulations while satisfying growing consumer demand for eco-friendly products and services.

Fuel pricing integration

• PDI Live Price Data: Make more accurate fuel pricing decisions using current market dynamics—including competitor prices—through a new API connecting gas price data and PDI Fuel Pricing Retail.

Logistics International updates

• PDI Logistics Hauler Payment Systems: Build a baseline for carrier compensation calculations through predefined formulas and customized templates with variables that can affect all stages of a trip—simplifying processes between companies and carriers.

• PDI Instance-to-Instance API: Flexibly support outsourced trip planning models with a streamlined process that helps eliminate manual data entry while improving data availability for both PDI Logistics International and third-party systems.

Loyalty flexibility

• PDI Loyalty Tiers Implementation: Leverage flexible options for the right loyalty “size” to align with specific business needs, especially for small to mid-size businesses trying to increase customer loyalty.

• PDI Add-to-Card Loyalty Offers: Measure attribution more accurately for retail marketing efforts by requiring consumers who engage with their loyalty apps to opt in to become eligible for certain offers.

Propane and Commercial Fueling integration

• PDI ERP Remote Portal: Allow office users and customers to remotely access web-based customer data to create propane fuel orders, update service schedules, redeem rewards, and process payments in real time—significantly reducing manual, paper-based processes.

PDI and Kii collaboration

The new PDI reseller agreement with Kii Corporation empowers PDI Wholesale customers to simplify vendor management by leveraging the enterprise-grade tank monitoring and reporting solutions from Kii. Available features include above-ground and below-ground tank monitoring, environmental compliance status, GPS for portable tank tracking, and other dashboards.

PDI and Square 9 Softworks alliance

A strategic alliance with Square 9 Softworks now helps PDI Enterprise customers save time and money by automating data extraction and enhancing the flow of information into ERP and back-office solutions. The AI-supported platform helps improve productivity by eliminating the manual data entry associated with recording account payables information and expediting the flow of information to boost efficiency.

PDI training and education enhancements

PDI University on the PDI Connections platform has expanded its offerings to include a wide variety of training courses, multimedia content, and additional thought leadership resources. The best way to stay up to speed on PDI solutions and industry trends is through an All-Access Pass that unlocks limitless learning opportunities for your entire organization—including training, leadership insights, and exclusive user group forums

Register for PDI Connections Live 2024

Registration is open for Connections Live 2024! Sign up today for the industry’s premier training and networking event in Washington, DC from August 25-28.

Sign Up Today

Simplifying Security at Scale

A national fast-casual restaurant chain implemented PDI Firewall as a Service to:

• Keep its private Wi-Fi secure
• Reduce its IT management burden
• Avoid PCI non-compliance fees

Business Challenges

• Aging hardware devices that were due for replacement
• Growing need for better protection of customer data and payments to meet PCI compliance

Solution Overview – PDI Firewall as a Service

PDI Network Management Solutions, including PDI Firewall as a Service, provide highly distributed businesses with a fully managed network security solution. Key capabilities include a cloud-based network platform, automated 4G wireless backup, tools to support PCI compliance, and optional Wi-Fi and 5G Internet services.

Read more about PDI Network Management Solutions

Customer Results

• Deployed Firewall as a Service at over 400 restaurants
• Added a layer of protection for business systems and data
• Reduced IT workload by deploying solutions fully managed by PDI

Some relationships start out great and just keep going strong. Other relationships might seem good for a while but eventually fizzle out. And some relationships should be avoided at all costs. 

To borrow from a popular online dating app, “swiping left” to avoid a potential relationship is sometimes your best move. And that’s exactly the way you should treat any malicious actors trying to infiltrate your business. 

Retailers in the fuel, convenience, and restaurant industry continuously face outside threats that can disrupt business operations, impact compliance efforts, and negatively influence brand reputation. That’s why it’s so important that retailers understand how to avoid cyberattacks. Two key dynamics in the industry make retailers a compelling target for hackers: The high number of customer transactions processed and a general lack of onsite IT expertise. 

In addition, decentralized networks can complicate cybersecurity and lead to data breaches across the convenience ecosystem. For instance, major retail brands might have dedicated IT teams, but they also have widely distributed networks across thousands of sites. 

At the other end of the spectrum, there are nearly 20,000 independent c-stores in the US alone—many with almost no IT support. In the UK, 70% of stores in the convenience sector are run by independent retailers. Most of these smaller stores have almost no IT support. In addition, a growing number of unstaffed retail sites and fuel stations are also vulnerable to cyberattacks such as ransomware because of their connections to the Internet. 

Regardless of where your business falls on this spectrum, it’s probably safe to say that you’d rather focus on your core business than spend all your time worrying about networks and other IT components. But when you’re facing a steady stream of cyberattacks, you simply can’t ignore the threat and hope for the best. 

How can you limit cyberattacks from impacting your business? 

The first step in avoiding cyberthreats is to make sure you’re prepared for them. One of the greatest challenges is trying to prevent threats from ever accessing your systems. You can stay ahead of hackers with a secure managed firewall that leverages the latest security technologies. A fully managed firewall is also a good way to reduce your workload since professional security experts remotely handle the network management tasks. 

However, if you do experience a cyberattack, timing is critical to minimize the impact. Containing and resolving any attack that gets past your perimeter defense requires 7/24/365 proactive monitoring, identification, and response. Cybersecurity solutions such as PDI XDR and PDI MDR Essential can provide robust endpoint protection to help you stay safe. 

This level of frontline protection is increasingly important if you have IoT devices, such as fuel tank gauges and smart sensors. Anything connected to the Internet is a potential threat to your business, so you should prioritize secure connectivity—including both private and guest Wi-Fi. If you’re modernizing your business with 5G, that also applies to secure 5G primary Internet services. 

What if the danger is beyond the scope of your business? 

Even though a cyberattack can quickly take your business offline, some threats or incidents are beyond your control—such as when equipment fails. The recent outage by telecom giant AT&T in the US provided a clear example of how some businesses are more prepared to continue their operations than others. 

Avoiding single points of failure is critical for business continuity, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to maintain redundant systems (which is neither cost-effective nor practical). However, you can incorporate key features such as automated failover in case one system goes down. 

For instance, fast-casual seafood restaurant chain Captain D’s was ready when some of its restaurants experienced an Internet service disruption during the AT&T outage. Fortunately, the impacted restaurants were able to quickly fail over to an alternate wireless connection from a different carrier. As a result, those restaurants were able to continue processing transactions without impacting their customers. 

Ready to improve your cybersecurity relationships? 

If you’re not ready to combat hackers on your own, working with an experienced Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) like PDI can quickly strengthen your cybersecurity game. 

With help from the experts at PDI, you can proactively prevent cyberthreats and enjoy round-the-clock monitoring to keep your business—and your customers—safe. Even better, by offloading your network and cybersecurity workload, you can get back to focusing on your core business. 

Ready for a Relationship?

Stay ahead of hackers with help from the cybersecurity experts at PDI.

Start Now

When the unpredictable happens, will your business be prepared? That hypothetical question became reality when Internet services provider AT&T recently experienced a widespread outage throughout the United States.

With thousands of individuals and businesses impacted for up to 12 hours before the outage was resolved, the impact was felt across all regions of the US.

The stakes of the outage were especially high for businesses that rely on AT&T as their primary Internet provider. Without reliable Internet connectivity, most businesses have a difficult time staying up and running without incurring financial loss and customer dissatisfaction.

That’s why it’s increasingly important to have a business continuity plan that can withstand the loss of primary Internet service. In the case of national fast-casual restaurant seafood chain Captain D’s, having an embedded failover solution paid big dividends during the recent outage.

With multiple locations initially impacted by the outage throughout the Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest, Captain D’s was able to keep its restaurants up and running thanks to a fully managed network security solution coupled with 5G as a Service from PDI.

Automatic wireless failover maximizes uptime

When the main Internet connection failed at some Captain D’s locations, the PDI system automatically switched to an alternate network. This high-availability technology is a feature of PDI’s Managed Network Service products, including Firewall as a Service and 5G as a Service.

A robust multi-carrier failover strategy allowed the affected sites to maintain operations despite disruptions in one carrier network.

Similar automatic failover occurred in other enterprises that were using PDI solutions, which not only enhance cybersecurity and simplify PCI compliance but also safeguard against operational downtime and potential loss of revenue.

In the event the primary Internet connection fails, the system seamlessly transitions to an alternate carrier, enabling businesses to continue serving customers, processing transactions, and avoiding income loss due to downtime.

The Captain D’s sites were able to quickly resume operations after discovering the outage, benefiting from the disruption-free business continuity. The network devices, fully managed by PDI, are overseen by security experts who help ensure maximum operational uptime.

Internet outages, while not frequent, are predictable incidents that businesses should be prepared for. With a solid high-availability backup plan and a dedicated security partner, businesses can mitigate such outages before they cause a significant impact.

Discover more about PDI network management and security solutions, or contact us to learn how we can assist in securing and advancing your business.