Tom Fender, Development Director at TWC Group, presents latest convenience retail data and trends while Tanya Pepin, founder and MD, delivers latest foodservice channel data and trends.
Here are the headlines from Tom Fender’s convenience retail presentation:
- SmartView Convenience (our market read for wholesaler supplied independent convenience stores) reports a sales decline of -4.3% in 2025 through independent convenience stores.
- Loss of single use Vape sales (as well as continued long-term declines in tobacco, news/mags, commission and alcohol) are major contributors of channel sales declines
- Vape sales have picked up slightly since the ban was introduced in June (move to big puff formats)
- Every lost vape sale also leads to a loss of £5 worth of cross purchase sales (energy drinks, gum, vodka are common cross purchase items)
- The number of indie c stores is in growth (ACS Local Shop Report 2023-2025).
- Wholesalers have done a good job in moving unaffiliated indies into fascia groups (where sales, visit frequency, discipline, footfall all typically grow). There are 1800 more fascia’d indie c-stores in 2025 compared to 2023
- There’s been an 18% growth in the Unitas retail fascia membership in 2 years (2023-2025)
- Sales through UK c stores = £48bn pa. But the market we are be competing in is c.£100bn pa when you add in small basket sales in supermarkets, food to go sales, coffee store sales, vape store sales, pharmacy outlet sales and off licence sales.
- ONE MORE shopper using indie c stores a day, with just 10% of them buying ONE MORE item, = £1billion of additional sales per annum for the sector
- 78% of the population live within 5 mins walk / drive of an indie c store
- But 54% of the population NEVER use them. Therefore we think ‘ONE MORE’ is easily achievable.
- PMPs remain critical and the overall % of items bought from [retail] wholesalers on PMP has nudged up (44% to 46% in 2025) despite some increase in plain pack sales when you dig into the data (specific skus….)
- The base price of 40 branded SKUs has increased least in indie c stores vs Tesco express / Tesco main stores but this is before club card promotions are factored in (and the number of items in club card promotions has shot up)
- Retailers should invest some of their own margin to offer some deep cut promotions (fewer, bigger, bolder) – but shout about them.
- TWC’s Store Track can now identify WHO shops in 40,000 c-stores in the UK…with 100+ demographic profile data points available. Suppliers can use this data to target right products / promos/NPD to the right indie retailer store based on who is shopping in the stores
- NPD has generated £250bn in new sales in last 13wks
- The sector must expand/evolve their offering. Relying too much on traditional convenience products will lead to some store closures.
- Consumers have changed. Focus on FTG, health/wellness, sports nutrition, protein….build it and they will come.
