The State of NACS at CAMEX26

by Dan Angelo

NACS CEO Ed Schlichenmayer began his remarks at the opening session of CAMEX26 with a bit of unsettling news. College enrollment is down and will continue to remain down for the next decade.



However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the college store industry.

“One of my favorite parts of this is connecting and listening, but it’s really the interaction that I and the rest of the NACS staff and our board members have,” said Schlichenmayer during the Main Stage Kickoff at CAMEX26 in Phoenix, AZ. “It’s those interactions that help us understand and learn more about your successes and your challenges, and that helps us frame what’s important to you.”

The session started with Robb Faust, NACS director of learning and program development, and Lacey Wallace, research analyst, talking about how the CAMEX experience is like a puzzle that comes together in ways to help members learn and grow. Schlichenmayer continued the analogy by speaking about parts of the puzzle that helps the campus store industry remain relevant in the higher educational realm.

He began by noting that research shows campus enrollment will decline between 1% and 2% per year over the next 10 years for a total decline of about 15% by the end of that period. That means there will be roughly three million fewer students on campus, a figure that will require institutions to become much more competitive when it comes to recruiting new students and retaining the ones already on campus.

“I do want to share a nugget of information that was shared with me quite some time ago,” Schlichenmayer said. “It was from an outsider, and when I say outsider I mean from outside the industry. With that said, when they visit a town and go to a college campus, they always visit the store first because they view the store as the window through which the institution is perceived.

“So, keep in mind that as the retailer on your campus, you are the first and early impression,” he continued. “And not just of your store, but of your institution.”

Another part of the recruitment and retention conversation is focused on academic success. Course materials have always been a hot topic on campus, but now it’s also about how they’re being accessed.

Schlichenmayer noted that a survey of students found that 91% liked the convenience of access programs and 86% said access programs helped them be more prepared for their classes. Another 83% claimed they truly believed that access programs contributed positively to their academic success.

“So, having those course materials, giving them confidence, taking away some of the frustrations of the first week of class, and being able to jump right in has made a huge positive difference,” Schlichenmayer said. “Those are some big numbers and they’re going to grow and they are going to factor in as we go forward as it relates to retention and improvement.”

The decline in enrollment will certainly have an impact on institutional budgets, but there is some good news on that front. Through his contacts within the higher education industry, Schlichenmayer was confident enough to report that federal spending will remain level, and that while college administrators will become more selective when approving new funding, it doesn’t mean they plan to make massive cuts.

He also pointed to the good work that the CAS Campus Store Standards are doing for the industry. The standards, created in conjunction with the Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, are providing stores with meaningful metrics that promote transparency.

They are also providing the rest of the campus with new ways to look at the store in a format that most departments are already using. The standards are showing administrators that the store is more than just a place to buy and sell stuff.

“The standards are a tool for you to educate your boss, your boss’s boss, and others on campus,” Schlichenmayer said. “They have a familiarity with the standards, which gives you a common ground to start the conversations, and they begin to see the store in a much different, much more positive light.”

In addition, the standards are providing administrators with the metrics to show just how well the store is doing. That information is starting other conversations on whether an independent store may be a better and more profitable model for the institution. Schlichenmayer reported that 35 institutions moved to the independent store model in 2024, 10 more made the move in 2025, and even more are considering it this year.

“Think of your campus as a community,” he said. “Think of it as broadening your network, whether you use the standards as a tool or not, but it is critically important that you spread your wings and make sure you have relationships in all kinds of places on campus.”