HERTFORDSHIRE, England –
New research from IGD has shown that the U.K. food and grocery convenience
market is set to be worth £46.2 billion by 2018, increasing by nearly a third
(29.8%) from its current value of £35.6 billion.
“The convenience sector
goes from strength to strength — we are forecasting £11 billion in extra annual
sales between now and 2018,” said Joanne Denney-Finch, CEO of IGD, in a press
release. “The increasing quality of the stores and shopping experience is
helping to broaden the sector’s appeal. Rather than offering the same thing to
everybody, convenience operators are increasingly tailoring their stores and
products depending on local demographics and shopper missions.”
IGD said the market is set
to grow by an annual average rate of 5.3% over the next five years. Symbol
operators currently account for just more than 40% of convenience sales,
significantly more than the other segments. Convenience multiples were the
fastest growing segment in the 12 months to April 2013.
Non-affiliated
independents still have the highest number of convenience stores. While the
number owned by the multiples has grown the fastest, they currently represent
less than 10% of the sector. Symbol groups have also shown strong growth in
store numbers, up 3.2% in the year to April.
“Symbol groups offer
independent store owners the chance to join a growing part of the market,
providing advantages such as group marketing and collective purchasing power,”
said Denney-Finch. “Convenience stores are also making the most of their
convenient locations with some differentiating themselves by offering Amazon
lockers, for example, while others are providing pick-up locations for parcel
deliveries. This provides busy shoppers the chance to use the large convenience
store network to make their everyday tasks easier to manage.”
“An incredible power
struggle is taking place in convenience, and adding to the intrigue is the fact
that supermarket chains don’t hold all the aces,” added Adam Leyland, editor of
the Grocer. “With more shoppers looking to buy little and often, supermarket
groups are certainly upping the ante in convenience, and as we have seen, some
are playing catch-up while others are ahead of the curve.”