Northeast Campus Stores Association upcoming events

SHOW & SHARE Marketing That Worked: Holiday Promotions & Campaigns (8 Oct 2026)

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMT

Marketing That Worked: Holiday Promotions & Campaigns

Thursday, October 8, 2026 | 2:00 PM ET | Virtual via Zoom

FREE for store members! You must be logged in to register.

The holiday season brings opportunities to reach students, families, alumni, and other gift shoppers through creative promotions, campaigns, events, and in-store experiences. Before this year’s holiday season gets underway, let’s look back at ideas that have already proven successful!

Join fellow NCSA members for a Show & Share featuring successful holiday marketing, promotions, sales, events, and campaigns from previous holiday seasons. This session is focused on ideas that have already been put into practice and delivered positive results — giving other stores time to learn from those successes and potentially adapt them for their own holiday plans this year.

Participants are encouraged to bring real examples from past holiday seasons, including promotions and sales, gift guides, email and social campaigns, signage and displays, events, giveaways, contests, or other creative marketing efforts. Share what you did, how customers responded, what made it successful, and whether you plan to repeat, expand, or update the idea this year.

The goal is to leave with proven, practical ideas that stores can still put to use this holiday season, while learning how fellow members are building on strategies that have worked for them in the past.

Format: Member-led show-and-share session featuring real examples, discussion, and idea exchange. Participation is encouraged but not required.

CAMPUS STORE CONNECT - Beyond the Store: Pop-Ups & Mobile Retail (14 Oct 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Beyond the Store: Pop-Ups & Mobile Retail

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 | 10:00am ET | Virtual via Zoom

FREE for store members! You must be logged in to register.

Pop-up shops and mobile retail can create valuable opportunities to reach customers beyond the traditional store, increase visibility, and generate additional sales. But taking the store on the road also comes with unique decisions and challenges — from choosing the right opportunities and merchandise to managing staffing, technology, transportation, and setup.

Join fellow NCSA members for a collaborative discussion focused on planning and operating successful pop-ups and mobile retail locations. Together, we’ll explore topics such as selecting the right opportunities and locations, merchandise and inventory planning, mobile POS and technology, staffing, transportation and setup, and evaluating whether an off-site selling opportunity was worth the investment.

This session is designed as an open exchange of ideas and experiences, guided by participant questions and shared examples. Members will discuss how they approach off-site selling, challenges they’ve encountered, solutions that have made temporary retail easier to manage, and lessons learned from taking their stores beyond their traditional locations.

Connect with colleagues from stores of all sizes to compare approaches, ask questions, and take away practical strategies for making pop-ups and mobile retail more manageable and successful.

Format: Interactive round-table discussion and idea sharing — participation is encouraged.

Fall 2026 Conference & Trade Show (1 Nov 2026)

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Campus Center, UMass Amherst | Amherst, MA

REGISTER

You must be logged in to register as a member.

Connect. Learn. Explore. Together.

The Northeast Campus Stores Association (NCSA) Fall Conference & Trade Show is back—and this year, we're bringing the conference experience directly to one of our member campuses.

Built around NCSA's mission of connecting and empowering members to create success, this year's event has been thoughtfully shaped by the feedback, survey responses, and conversations we've had with members since our last conference. We heard what you wanted more of, and we've worked hard to deliver a conference that provides greater value, more opportunities to learn from one another, and more ways to strengthen your operations.

Whether you're a campus store director, buyer, marketing professional, operations leader, frontline manager, or vendor partner, this conference is designed to help you Connect, Learn, and Explore alongside peers who understand the unique challenges and opportunities of educational retail.

View Agenda

Subject to change. Updates will be reflected in real time.

More Programming. More Learning. More Value.

This year features our most robust educational lineup yet, including two bonus sessions newly added to the schedule to provide even more opportunities for discussion, idea sharing, and practical takeaways. From industry trends and operational best practices to merchandising, marketing, technology, and campus partnerships, our programming is focused on the topics that matter most to today's stores.

A Unique Member Campus Experience

For the first time in recent years, attendees will have the opportunity to experience the conference on a member campus. This setting creates a unique opportunity to see another store operation firsthand, gain fresh perspectives, and strengthen the connections that make the NCSA community so valuable.

Expand Your Network and Discover New Opportunities

One of the greatest strengths of NCSA is the willingness of members to share ideas, successes, and lessons learned. Throughout the conference, you'll have dedicated opportunities to connect with fellow store professionals, exchange strategies, and build relationships that continue long after the event ends.

The trade show remains one of the most valuable parts of the conference experience, giving stores the opportunity to meet with vendor partners, explore new products and services, discuss industry trends, and take advantage of conference specials and purchasing opportunities. A strong turnout from both stores and vendors creates value for everyone—helping members maximize purchasing opportunities while strengthening the network that supports campus retail across the Northeast.

Join Us

If you've attended before, you'll notice the enhancements. If this will be your first NCSA conference, there's never been a better time to join us.

Visit the Fall Conference page to explore the full schedule, educational sessions, trade show details, registration information, and everything else you'll need to plan your visit.

We hope you'll join us as we come together to Connect. Learn. Explore. and continue building a stronger future for campus stores across the Northeast.

REGISTER

hotel information

Hotel UMass

Start Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026

End Date: Monday, November 2, 2026

Special Group Rate: 169.00 USD per night

Last Day to Book : Friday, October 2, 2026

BOOK YOUR ROOM

Hotel UMass

Campus Center, UMass Amherst

1 Campus Center Way

Amherst, MA 01003

hotel@umass.edu

(413) 549-6000

GET DIRECTIONS

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Conference Program Sponsors