The power of data for smaller fuel retailers. Big decisions without big data

At this year’s NACS education session: Unlocking the Power of Data for Smaller Retailers, Mike Wilson, COO at Cubby’s Incorporated, shared a refreshingly practical message for operators of all sizes: you don’t need a huge data science team or sophisticated loyalty programs to make smarter, more profitable decisions.

Smaller fuel retailers, he explained, already have access to the kind of data that can drive meaningful change — from POS systems, waste logs, and vendor reports to labor schedules and stock movement.

The key is knowing which numbers matter and turning them into actionable insights, not dashboards that gather dust.

Data is already at your fingertips

Wilson challenged retailers to start small: pick one data point that can improve tomorrow’s decisions today.

This could mean tracking sales per labor hour to optimize staffing, analyzing waste logs to identify overproduction, or monitoring vendor fill rates to secure supply. Each metric tells a story, and when those stories connect, they reveal patterns that directly affect margin and performance.

Importantly, he highlighted that data isn’t just for the big players. Small operators actually have an advantage in speed, they can interpret and act on insight quickly, without the red tape that slows down larger organizations.

You don’t have to own every data source

At Kalibrate, we often hear a common misconception: “We don’t have enough data to make decisions.”

But you don’t need to own all the data to unlock insight. By using mobility and behavioral data, Kalibrate helps retailers understand their trade areas, customers, and competitors with incredible depth.

Our analytics can tell you:

• Who your customers are, including demographics and psychographics
• Where they come from, and how their travel patterns affect site performance
• Which competitors influence their decisions, and how your offer compares

This external perspective complements whatever internal data a retailer already has, turning partial data into a complete performance picture.

Benchmarking and visibility are the real power plays

One of Wilson’s key themes was the value of benchmarking, both internally and externally.

Retailers should regularly compare sites, identify the top performers, and replicate what works. But the biggest leap forward comes when you combine this with market and competitive benchmarking.

That’s where Kalibrate’s Competitive Insights platform comes in. It offers an easy-access view of your market, tracking performance changes over time and revealing how your competitors’ strategies are shifting. You can see whether new initiatives are boosting your results, or if rivals are gaining ground.

By bringing together external market data and your own store metrics, you can see the full impact of every change you make.

In short, you don’t need millions of loyalty records to make data work for you. You just need the right visibility.

Turning insight into action

The strongest message from Wilson’s session was simple but powerful:

“Data without action is useless.”

Every number, whether it’s waste percentage, margin by category, or customer count, should trigger the question: What am I going to do about it today?

At Kalibrate, that’s exactly how we approach analytics. We turn complex data into clear, actionable insight, empowering fuel retailers to take confident, evidence-based action.

Starting small can create a big advantage

For smaller or independent fuel retailers, the opportunity lies not in building massive data systems, but in using the right data smarter and faster.

With Kalibrate’s tools — like Competitive Insights — you can start making better decisions today:

• Identify underperforming sites or offers
• Pinpoint opportunities based on local behavior
• Measure the impact of every change you make
• Benchmark yourself against your competition

In a market where agility matters as much as scale, the ability to act quickly on clear insight is a decisive advantage.

Data is the great equalizer

The most encouraging takeaway from Unlocking the Power of Data for Smaller Retailers is that data has levelled the playing field. You don’t have to be a global brand to compete intelligently, you just have to be strategic.

Smaller retailers can leverage accessible data, partner with analytics experts like Kalibrate, and start making informed, confident decisions right now.

Because in the data-driven future of retail, it’s not the size of your dataset that matters — it’s what you do with it.