Press Releases

The 2019 Local Shop Report has revealed that the 46,388 stores in the UK convenience sector currently employ around 405,000 people, generating sales of over £40.3bn over the last year. The report, launched this week by the Association of Convenience Stores, demonstrates how important the UK’s network of convenience stores are to thousands of communities and millions of customers.  

Key findings from this year’s report include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the findings of research into consumers’ and small businesses’ attitudes towards and need for access to cash.

The BritainThinks research commissioned by the Payment Systems Regulator shows that ‘the majority of consumers use cash regularly’, with 83% of consumers using a free-to-use ATM within the past month and 67% of consumers using cash more than once in the past week.

ACS has called for a more targeted approach to dealing with repeat offenders, after official figures from the Home Office show that retailers who experience crime are being targeted more often than in previous years.

The 2018 Commercial Victimisation Survey, published this morning (5^th September), shows that overall, crimes against retailers and wholesalers continue to rise year on year, driven mostly by increases in theft by customers.

Key findings from the survey include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) is urging retailers to ensure that they are prepared for the new fuel labelling regulations which are now in force from today (1^st September).

These new regulations legally require additional labelling to be introduced on all fuel dispensers and nozzles in all UK filling stations by 1st September 2019 and aim to help drivers identify fuels and reduce misfuelling.

ACS has welcomed a new commitment from LINK to install free to use cash machines on high streets that don’t have any free access to cash for consumers.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) and SGF (the Scottish Grocers’ Federation) have welcomed the Scottish Affairs Committee report on Access to Financial Services which urges LINK to cancel the next planned cut in interchange fees for cash machine operators.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has signed a letter alongside a group of business organisations calling for MPs sitting on the Treasury Select Committee to publish the final report of their business rates inquiry before the Autumn Budget.

The Treasury Select Committee launched its inquiry into business rates in February to scrutinise how Government policy has impacted business and the findings of the inquiry were due to be published next month.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has signed a letter alongside fifty retail organisations calling for to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid to reform the business rates system.

In the letter, retail organisations including the British Retail Consortium and Booksellers Association have called on the Government to put business rates at heart of the promised new economic package to boost business and investment in the UK.  

The letter asks for four fixes that would address many of the challenges posed by business rates:

New research published today by the Association of Convenience Stores has found that UK consumers are crying out for more specialist food shops and banks in their local area.

The ACS Community Barometer looks at which services the public want (and don’t want) around them, as well as how essential those services are, the impact they have on reducing loneliness, and whether those services overall have a positive impact on where they live.

Retailers and wholesalers have written to the Government raising concerns about ongoing issues with the introduction of tobacco track and trace regulations. 

The ‘track and trace’ regulations introduced on 20th May 2019 put in place a new method of tracking the sale of legitimate tobacco products through the supply chain. The regulations require retailers and wholesalers to scan the movement and record the sale of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco through the supply chain up until the first retail outlet.