Local Shop Report 2016
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THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT 2016 A report by the Association of Convenience Stores #LocalShopReport CONTENTS ABOUT THE REPORT CONVENIENCE STORES - THE MODERN LOCAL SHOP About the report 2 The Local Shop Report 2016 marks the The value the convenience * About ACS 2 fifth edition of our report on the successful sector adds to the economy in That’s around of all UK RETAIL... ** The modern local shop 3 and diverse convenience sector in the Gross Value Added is just over...£5bn 6% Summary 4 UK. The report is the cornerstone of ACS’ Shops 6 research, providing detailed information The local shop is a long standing feature of UK communities, • Co-operatives – groups of stores that are owned by their Sales 8 about the stores that operate in the it is however constantly evolving and changing. customers, the biggest by far is The Co-operative Group, Investment 10 sector, the people they employ and the but there are a number of smaller co-operative societies The modern local shop has developed within the convenience operating convenience stores around the country; Features 12 communities that they serve. store format. It is typically characterised as follows: Jobs 14 • Multiples – chains of stores run from a head office • Open for long hours, usually seven days a week, and not (examples are McColl’s Retail Group, BP and Tesco Express); Entrepreneurs 16 In this year’s report, for the first time we subject to restrictions under the Sunday Trading Act. Communities 18 are exploring the investment decisions • Symbol groups – these are groups usually organised by a • Occupying a small store premises – usually smaller than wholesaler that are made up of independent businesses Customers 20 made by convenience store owners, 280 square metres or 3,000 square feet (see page 7). but collaborate in joint buying and marketing initiatives Methodology 22 including new information on how much • Stocking a broad range of product categories (see page 9). (examples are Spar, Costcutter, Londis, Mace and Best One); they’ve been investing over the last year • Franchises – these stores are run by independent retailers and what they’re investing in to develop Beyond these three defining characteristics is a significant who enter into a franchise agreement with a brand to their offering to customers. amount of variety. Local shops operate in and serve all types develop their store. These stores are included within the of communities across the UK. multiple segment; In addition to the primary data that Industry experts tend to categorise the industry by ownership • Non-affiliated independents – these tend to be the ABOUT ACS features in The Local Shop Report, we types (for a full breakdown see page 7) – there are: smallest businesses in the market. also bring together data from well- *Source: ACS Costs Barometer 2014 **Source: ONS 2015 respected research organisations such The Association of Convenience Stores is a trade as him! research and consulting, the association representing local shops across the Convenience stores trade in a wide variety of locations, meeting many needs: Institute of Grocery Distribution, Nielsen, UK. We represent our members through effective lobbying, industry leading advice and networking ComRes and William Reed Business RURAL URBAN opportunities for retailers and suppliers. Media. Together this data forms our A ‘traditional’ convenience Operating as part of a mix of Our membership includes a diverse range of most comprehensive ever picture of the store, often providing the stores serving the needs of convenience store retailers, from stand-alone family contribution that local shops make to only shopping option those living in centres and run independent stores to symbol groups and communities and the economy in the UK. for the local community. the shopping needs of multiple convenience stores. These retailers operate workers and shoppers. in neighbourhoods, villages, on petrol forecourts and in city centres. #LocalShopReport ACS’ core purpose is to lobby Government on the SHOP issues that make a difference to local shops. We represent the interests of retailers on a range of issues, including business rates, energy, regulation, planning, alcohol and many more. All of our * * Forecourts can be in urban, submissions to Government can be found in the suburban or rural areas Lobbying section of our website. SUBURBAN FORECOURT For more information about ACS, visit our website. Providing a focal point In some locations for suburban communities providing an important 2012 2013 THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT 2014 THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT and estates sometimes commuter service and in THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT 2015 A report by the Association of Convenience Stores THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT 2016 A report by the Association of Convenience Stores A report by the Association of Convenience Stores #ACSLocalShopReport A report by the Association of Convenience Stores 13/9/12 16:00:25 3/9/13 09:29:45 A report by the Association of Convenience Stores 3/9/14 10:57:55 #LocalShopReport standalone or alongside others providing the main ACS LSR2014 D6 V5 03.09.14 AW OL V2.indd 1 ACS LSR2015 D1 V9 10.08.15.indd 1 ACS LSR2013 D4 V20 27.08.13 AW.indd 1 10/08/2015 10:59 ACS Local Shop Report D8 V1 130912 AW.indd 1 a small number of other local shop service for the local services. whole community. Source: WRBM/Nielsen 2016 2 THE LOCAL SHOP REPORT 2016 acs.org.uk September 3 Data related to overall sales is sourced from the Institute of Grocery Distribution; data related to shops is sourced from William Reed Business Media and Nielsen, data related to SUMMARY Customers is sourced from him! research and consulting; data relating to communities is sourced from the ACS Community Barometer conducted with ComRes. All other data is sourced from bespoke research for ACS. The full methodology is available on page 22. SHOPS CUSTOMERS ENTREPRENEURS • There are 50,095 convenience stores in The average spend in a convenience store is £6.13. Almost three quarters of store owners (74%) are first mainland UK. time investors, as opposed to inheriting their business. 79% of customers pay by cash. • 41,675 in England. Convenience store owners work very long hours, with More than half of customers (56%) walk to their local • 5,324 in Scotland. 22% of shop owners taking no holiday in the year convenience store, with 5% using public transport. • 3,096 in Wales. and 24% working more than 70 hours per week. More than one in five customers (22%) visit their • Scotland has more shops per head than any other 24% of owners have been in their business for local shop every day. part of the UK with one shop for every 995 people. more than 25 years. • 74% of local shops are owned and operated by Ethnicity small business owners. 54% of business owners in the UK describe themselves as White British, while 43% describe • 70% of retailers own the premises they operate from. themselves as Asian or Asian British. In London, 29% of store owners were born in the UK. 77% of store owners in the UK speak English as their first language. Other than English, Punjabi, Gujarati FEATURES and Urdu are the most commonly spoken languages. The convenience sector includes a range of features and services to meet the needs of customers, including staples like lottery (76%), mobile phone top up (68%) and bill payment services (53%) as well as emerging technologies like contactless payment (41%), smart meters (26%) and digital advertising screens (21%). Many stores are also ensuring that they meet the needs of disabled customers, with 37% featuring wheelchair access. SALES • The total value of sales in the convenience sector in the year to April 2016 was £37.5 billion. JOBS • Turnover in the convenience sector has grown by over £400m over the last year. Convenience stores provide almost 390,000 jobs in mainland UK. Sales by ownership • 323,203 in England. • Symbol groups* account for 37.9% of sales in • 41,289 in Scotland. the sector. • 24,010 in Wales. • Multiple chains and co-operatives account for 34.5% Job profiles of total sales. INVESTMENT • 60% of staff are women. • Non-affiliated independents account for 16.9% COMMUNITIES Local shops invested over £600m in their businesses • 19% are aged 16 to 24. of sales. over the last year. • 11% are over 60 years old. Sales by category Convenience stores and Post Offices are the two The most popular form of investment is in 30% of employees work 31 hours per week or more. • Chilled and fresh fruit and veg accounts for 23.8% services that are seen to have the most positive impact refrigeration, with 38% making an investment over 41% of staff have worked at their shop for more than of sales. on their local area by councillors, consumers and MPs. the last year. five years. • Bread and bakery accounts for 5.5% of sales. • 84% of independent retailers engaged in some The average annual investment per store type is: 36% of convenience store staff are the only income form of community activity over the last year. earner in their families. • Sandwiches account for 2.8% of sales. • Independents: £7,632. • The South West is the most engaged region, with * Symbol group means retailers – usually independents – • Symbol groups: £10,716. The average travel time for staff to work in trading together under a common brand. 93% engaging in some form of community activity. • Multiples: £19,272. convenience stores is 13 minutes. 4 5 SHOPS SHOP SIZE MULTIPLES 24% 40% 36% of convenience stores Scotland has more are run by shops per head than 50,095 any other part of 74% INDEPENDENT RETAILERS the UK CONVENIENCE STORES IN THE UK INDEPENDENTS 50% 43% 7% SHOP NUMBERS SHOP Source: ACS/him! 2016 SHOP NUMBER SHOP POPULATION SCOTLAND KEY OF SHOPS PER SHOP ENGLAND TOTAL SHOP SHOP SHOP SHOP 5,324 SHOP 41,675 NORTH EAST SHOP OWNERSHIP SHOP SHOP SHOP One shop per SHOP One shop per SHOP 995 people SHOP 1,302 people 2,263 The vast majority of shops in the convenience sector are owned and operated by small business owners.