FAQs

The CSP Center Store Forum is an annual industry event that brings together convenience store retailers and suppliers to focus on center store category management, including packaged foods (snacks and candy), household essentials, personal care products, and more. The forum features expert speakers, consumer trend analysis, and innovative approaches to product placement and merchandising to help retailers optimize their center store revenue and performance.

The 2026 CSP Center Store Forum will take place from Monday, June 22, 2026, through Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at the Westin Chicago Lombard, IL.

The forum is ideal for convenience retailers, category managers, foodservice directors, operations executives, and anyone responsible for center store strategy and sales. Suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and service providers in the dispensed beverage industry will also benefit from attending to connect with retail decision-makers and showcase their solutions.

Retailer:
An individual who works, manages or owns a retail outlet in the convenience and petroleum industry.

Registration fees are complimentary for those who have received an invitation, thanks to the support of our sponsors. Please contact Mike Marino at michael.marino@informa.com for more information.

Sponsor:
An individual who works for a company that is a sponsor of the conference.

If you are not yet a sponsor and would like additional information, please contact Brandy Mulcahy at fssponsorrelations@informa.com.

View the CSP Center Store Forum Agenda at the button below.

Center Store Revenue Potential: Snacks, candy, and packaged goods remain critical drivers of convenience store profitability, accounting for a significant portion of in-store sales.
Center Store Optimization: Discover strategies to enhance product assortment, improve merchandising, and maximize sales in the center store and align with consumer trends.
Networking with the Industry: Connect with category leaders, suppliers, and industry experts to gain actionable insights and build partnerships that fuel growth.

Connect with the top retail firms, innovators, and suppliers at the CSP Center Store Forum during curated one-to-one meetings or over fun networking activities to gain proven best practices and build partnerships that drive growth.

With expert-led discussions from Technomic and top retailing firms in the industry, CSP Center Store Forum attendees will learn how consumer preferences for healthier, indulgent, and premium options are shaping the future of the center store category.

Please be vigilant if approached by any company representing themselves as the housing provider for the Center Store Forum. These companies will offer to make hotel reservations within the room block on your behalf or misrepresent themselves as agents of the hotel. Please note that Center Store Forum does not rent, share or sell your contact information to any third parties.

The companies that we have been made aware of are Convention Housing Planners Corp, Expo Housing Services and Exhibitors Housing Management. Please let us know as soon as possible if another company reaches out to you.

Center Store Forum is not utilizing the services of any housing agent or third party and the host hotel will never reach out to attendees to solicit booking rooms. Please only make your accommodations using the link in your registration confirmation email.

The group rate is $179 + tax (based on availability).

Check-in time is 3:00pm and check-out time is 12:00pm.

Complimentary wireless internet will be provided throughout the meeting space. Login details will be provided during the meeting.

The meeting attire is business casual.

We want everyone who comes to CSP Center Store Forum to have a great experience. Whether you are attending, speaking, exhibiting, sponsoring or working with or for us, our focus is on creating an environment and experience that everyone can participate in and benefit from.

Informa is a leading international business-to-business information services group that connects people with knowledge to help them learn more, know more, and do more. Through its Informa Connect division, the company delivers content-led live and on-demand events, training, and specialist content to businesses and professionals across various industries.

As part of the Informa family, CSP benefits from global reach, industry expertise, and the infrastructure necessary to host gatherings that assemble key decision-makers and financial partners in environments specifically designed for meaningful business connections and actionable insights across the convenience retail landscape.

Informa Connect is dedicated to creating experiences that deliver positive impact while minimizing environmental footprint. Through the FasterForward sustainability program, events like ours will move faster to become zero-waste and net-zero carbon by 2030.

In the future, we will actively help partners, customers, and wider markets achieve their own sustainability goals. By attending CSP Center Store Forum, participants will not just gain valuable industry knowledge and connections, but they will also support a more sustainable future for their industries.