Adapting to local needs | Viewpoint: James Lowman

You will have heard us talk about the contribution local shops make to the economy and their communities and one of the key ways that stores do this is by providing flexible, local and secure jobs to 437,000 people.

As staff shortages ease, retailers are now employing more people for more hours. Over the last year, colleagues in the sector worked a combined 12.1 million hours a week, working tirelessly to provide their communities with the products and services they need day to day.

We know our sector is incredibly agile and forward-thinking and this has been demonstrated time and time again as convenience retailers have had to adapt their stores to meet the ever-changing needs of their communities.

Our research shows how committed local shops are to their communities, investing about £646m in their businesses over the last year to diversify and expand the services they can offer to their communities.

As well as investing financially, convenience retailers have continued to invest their time and energy into engaging with their customers. Findings
from this year’s report have revealed significant growth in the number of retailers using social media for their businesses.

With more products and stores going viral over the last year, there has been a clear shift towards activity on platforms like Facebook, X
(formerly Twitter) and TikTok to engage with customers.

An interesting finding from this year’s report, which could explain the uptick in social media usage, is the changing profile of independent convenience store owners, which is becoming younger, including more women, and more likely to include first-time investors coming into
the sector, as well as established family businesses.

James Lowman is chief executive at the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS)