Each year, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) releases a Local Shop Report, to outline the incredible contribution that convenience stores make to their communities and the wider economy.
Using primary data collected themselves and secondary data kindly provided by other research organisations in the sector, ACS has been able to outline both challenges and strengths in the industry. The findings are then used to inform MPs, decision-makers and of course, you.
Key Highlights from the ACS Local Shop Report
- 71% of stores are run by independent retailers (either unaffiliated or as part of a symbol group).
- The total value of sales for 2025 is forecast at £48.8billion and the convenience sector is expected to grow to £53.7billion by 2028.
- 32% of customers know the people running and working in their local shop very well or quite well.
- 80% of convenience stores have been involved in community activity over the last year.
- Despite a slight increase in the number of convenience stores trading in the UK to 50,486, the number of jobs that they provide has fallen from 445,000 to 443,000.
- The amount invested by retailers has fallen by £100m from £1bn to £900m, and the total projected sales this year has fallen to £48.8bn, from £49.4bn last year.
- Over the last year, the convenience sector contributed over £10.5bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) and over £9.5bn in taxes.
- Community is important: Over 80% of independent retailers have engaged in some form of community activity in the past year.
- Community-owned stores have a 92% survival rate.
Over the last year, convenience retailers have faced a series of major challenges, which have resulted in stalling sales, a reduction in investment and a fall in the number of people working in the sector. The ACS believes that the main cost increases facing retailers are due to: rising business rates, National Insurance Contributions, and the National Living Wage.
Speaking on the launch of the report, ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “This has been an extremely challenging year for local shops as the cost of doing business has risen significantly while sales have stagnated due to fierce competition from discounters, supermarkets and other retailers. These figures should serve as a warning to the Government that we cannot continue taking the brunt of additional costs and other burdens without the impact being felt by the communities that these essential stores serve.”
As part of the activity the ACS is doing around the report launch, they have created constituency cards for every MP in mainland UK to inform them about the shops on their patch, the jobs they create, and what they’re doing to support the community, in the hope that steps can be taken to support the sector and promote growth.
