On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Connor ↗
In their words
The reason we did so well where others have failed is we started really small. We started in literally an 8-by-10-foot shipping container. Toronto has crazy rent prices — I think we must have the cheapest rent in the city.
We also throw in free candy and write personalized messages on every bag. This is just a way for us to connect with our customer, and they love it.
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
Who is Connor McPhail?
Founder of Snacko, the Toronto delivery-only convenience store. He worked at Uber Eats for about two years as an account manager on enterprise restaurant accounts, then quit to start his own business and ended up partnering with Uber Eats and the other delivery platforms rather than competing with them. He presented at TechTO's RetailTO in July 2019.
What is Snacko?
A convenience store with no storefront. It lists on Uber Eats and the other delivery apps and sends out chips, chocolate, ice cream and drinks from a small space — an eight-by-ten-foot shipping container when he described it on stage — with some of the fastest preparation times on the platform, because nothing is cooked. PYMNTS covered it in October 2018.
What is his argument about convenience?
That convenience is four separate things, and most retailers only buy the first. Actual convenience is removing a barrier, like offering delivery. User service flow is putting your product where the customer already is — his example was the convenience store built next to the gas pump. Perception is language: you do not have to be more convenient than a competitor, you have to be described that way. Control is letting the customer manage their own experience.
Why did he say the convenience industry was worth attacking?
Because it had not moved. He put US convenience-store sales at about 11 percent of retail and food service sales in 2017 while grocery and restaurant delivery were being rebuilt around apps, and called it a dinosaur industry next to its neighbours — that gap is why he launched Snacko. Figures as presented on the RetailTO stage in July 2019.