Brits purchased an increasing number of items at their local stores when compared to the same period last year, according to new data from PayPoint’s UK network of 28,000 convenience stores.
Despite lockdown restrictions varying between the Home Nations, between October and December 2021, consumers purchased an average of 4.25 items per basket across PayPoint convenience stores, up 12% on the previous quarter.
The research reveals that there was a 13% increase in food-to-go, a 12% jump in grocery – significantly attributed to sales of energy drinks such as Lucozade, while sales of household items increased by 10%.
Sales of Halls and Lockets increased by 95% year-on-year and 92% year-on-year, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2021 as a large number of Brits sought quick relief from the many nasty colds going around.
PayPoint has also published its latest Convenience Basket Register – a quarterly glimpse of big sellers across six key product categories between October and December 2021. The top selling products included: Cadbury Choc Mini Rolls (5 pack), Cabico Tortillas Wraps, Lanchester Dairies Fresh Milk, Utterly Butterly, Halls Mentholyptus Extra Strong, Halls Soothers Blackcurrant, Young’s Fish Fingers (10 pack), Cadbury’s Flake 99 Cone, Lucozade Energy Orange, Boost Sport Orange, Knights Cider (4 pack), and San Miguel (4 pack).
Anthony Sappor, Head of Retail Proposition & Partnerships, said: “Throughout winter, people nationwide continued to shop locally and support their nearby convenience stores. An increase on the number of items purchased per convenience store shows that despite the numerous benefits of shopping online, it’s the UK’s convenience store sectors that Brits continue to rely on for many of the day-to-day purchases.”
