We’re going all the way back to 2015 when Schitt’s Creek premiered on Canadian television, the New England Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX (with Katy Perry performing at halftime), Birdman won the Best Picture Oscar, and David Letterman officially retired from Late Nite With David Letterman. That same year, Chris spoke with a writer for SPSS, an industry website aimed at convenience store operators, to discuss the unique psychology of convenience store shoppers and share thoughts on how to engage with them effectively. You can find the full write up here.

A few of Chris’s insights from the conversation:

“What has to be remembered may seem obvious: they are in search of convenience, a state of mind that is as good as absolute. When they come to a C-store they are not stocking up. They won’t be browsing. These are task-driven trips“

“Retailers often make the mistake of thinking they don’t have to be strategic with task-focused customers. They feel they can put something loud and colorful in the way of a shopper, and he or she will grab it on impulse. But the opposite is actually true. The less time we have to communicate, the more strategic we need to be because we don’t have a second to waste once that customer walks through the door.“

“C-stores are identified with convenience, and from the shopper’s perspective, it’s not that unreasonable to expect them to deliver that convenience in tandem with more upscale products and services … Shoppers are less and less inclined to make concessions regarding quality of product, quality of service, and reasonableness of price. They want to know how a C-store can help them get the most out of their lives. C-stores that elevate and evolve their strategies to provide a satisfying answer to this question will be most likely to succeed.“