Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Sales growth to double this year at c-stores: Mintel

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will see sales growth more than doubling at convenience stores in 2020, a new report by Mintel predicts.

The research agency forecast the channel to grow by almost 8 per cent this year to reach a sales value of £47.5 billion. The growth figure compares to 3 per cent in 2019, and outpaces the estimated 6 per cent growth for wider grocery sector this year.


“The shift to localised shopping during the peak of COVID-19 has benefited the convenience sector, driving larger-basket demand and sales as consumers necessarily shopped more in their local communities,” commented Nick Carroll, associate director of retail research at Mintel.

An IGD report published last week has also predicted similar growth for the convenience channel this year.

https://www.asiantrader.biz/convenience-channel-to-grow-over-13-per-cent-by-2022/

The Mintel report underlines the consumer support for convenience stores with 80 per cent of users agreeing that the local shops provide essential services in the community. A quarter of the consumers have also reported that they are now shopping more with local businesses after the virus outbreak.

“Longer term, the importance of convenience stores within these communities and consumers’ desire to support them will only be reinforced - providing a solid platform for convenience retailers to build upon,” Carroll added.

Mintel, however, predicted a decline of -3.9% in the market in 2021 as it rebalances before reaching more consistent lower growth through to 2024 (of 2-3%) when the market is forecast to reach £49 billion.

The report also notes that not all categories are benefiting from the pandemic demand in the convenience stores.

“On-the-go food and drink, for example, is a significant part of convenience trade and has naturally been constricted by lower levels of public movement and more working at home since the lockdown. In particular this has impacted convenience stores in travel hubs,” Carroll said.

“However, this decline in sales has been offset by more spending on in-home food and drink as shoppers look to shop closer to home.”

More for you

Trade union calls for 'respect, decent break' for retail staff

iStock image

Trade union calls for 'respect, decent break' for retail staff

Retail trade union Usdaw today (23) called on the shopping public to show respect for shop workers, stating that the busy pre-Christmas shopping period leaves retail workers exhausted and in need of a proper break.

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says, “By the time retail workers get to Christmas Eve, they will have been through a very busy run-up to Christmas. Our members tell us that incidents of verbal abuse are much worse in December and through to the New Year, when shops are busy, customers are stressed and things can boil over.

Keep ReadingShow less
iStock 1458055720
iStock image
iStock image

'Retailers must focus on prices as convenience channel poised to expand'

Grocers must focus on their price positioning to remain competitive as food and grocery spending in UK convenience stores is projected to outpace the hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discounters channel.

According to GlobalData, food and grocery spending in convenience stores is projected to reach £43.2 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.0 per cent between 2024 and 2028.

Keep ReadingShow less
iStock 1137402716
iStock image
iStock image

‘Grocery tax’ to add £56 to food bills

The upcoming “grocery tax” could hit hard-pressed Britons in the pocket, adding up to £56 annually to household shopping bills and costing families as much as £1.4 billion a year, state reports on Sunday (22) citing a recent analysis.

The scheme, known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), imposes a levy on retailers and manufacturers for the cost of collecting and disposing of packaging waste, currently funded via council tax.

Keep ReadingShow less
SPAR teams up with Preston primary school to spread festive cheer

SPAR teams up with Preston primary school to spread festive cheer

Ashton Primary School in Preston has teamed up with SPAR during the season of goodwill to donate delicious food to the city’s Foxton Centre.

The school’s Year 3 class enjoyed a cookery session baking pear and chocolate crumbles to take down to the Foxton Homeless Day Centre as a pre-Christmas treat for people who access its services.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cadbury removed from royal warrant list after 170 years

(Photo credit should read Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images)

Cadbury removed from royal warrant list after 170 years

Cadbury’s has not been granted a royal warrant for the first time in 170 years after it got dropped from King Charles’s list of warrants.

Queen Victoria first awarded Cadbury with the title in 1854 which was then repeated by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1955 who was a huge lover of the chocolate.

Keep ReadingShow less