KYC, an abbreviation that stands for “Know your customer”, is an important feature of modern banking and finance industries, where it is used to mitigate risk and increase trust. But in any business, not least in convenience store operation, it is also vitally important to Know Your Customers – for a different reason, of course.As the recent iShop Study demonstrated, there are shifts in customer behavior occurring since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is vitally important for c-store operators to be aware of these shifts. For example, grab-and-go visits declined 7.2%, while grab-and-go-home visits are up 3.4%. This is because as consumers are spending more time at home, their needs have changed. Retailers can capture more grab-and-go-home trips with expanded food and beverage product offers that reach beyond in-store shoppers and help consumers solve the need to provide for household needs.

For c-store operators, catering to grab-and-go-home customers doesn't have to mean offering something drastically different from their existing grab-and-go lineup. The main difference lies in emphasizing accessibility and the ability to purchase multiple portions.Grab-and-go-home behavior shift is just one example of customer behavior shifts, and in order to Know Your Customers and be prepared to satisfy their changing needs, c-store operators should consult the data analytics specialists. Ticon, a market leader in traffic data analytics for the retail industry, analyzes traffic-related data in relation to vitally important demographic data, which makes it easier for a store operator to Know Your Customer through a better understanding of the customer base.