2023 has seen the biggest value sales uplift in UK convenience channel as compared to any year in the last generation though value uplift is not matched by volume growth due to inflation, states a recent report, forecasting that the channel will touch £60 billion by 2028.
According to the report titled UK Convenience Market 2023 by IGD, sales in convenience channel grew 9.2 per cent in H1 2023 with chilled food and soft drinks gaining the biggest category upsides. FY2023 sales are projected to be £ 48.5bn, up by 7.6 per cent as compared to 2022.
2023 is proving to be another abnormal year in the UK food & grocery sector, with sales performance running ahead well of the historic averages of the last few decades due to surging inflation, stated IGD.
Against this background, the UK convenience market has seen a major step-up in sales growth, while shoppers have actually become more value and price-conscious than ever, adapting to the cost-of-living crisis.
Top categories in convenience channel are tobacco, e-cigs and vapes, alcohol, chilled food, soft drinks, canned and packaged grocery and confectionery, according to the report.
The National Lottery remains the biggest single contributor to the service revenue of c-store owners, providing a significant driver for incremental footfall.
IGD report forecasts that convenience growth will average 4.3 per cent over the next five years, touching £60 bn by 2028. The channel will get extra boost from expanding presence of Morrisons Daily as well as aggressive rollout of Asda's two convenience format.
