According to the latest insight from Lumina Intelligence’s Convenience Tracking Programme, compared to the 4WE 04/04, the UK convenience retail channel has seen growth in average shopper visit frequency and average weekly shopper value. In contrast, average basket size has fallen slightly.
In the 4WE 02/05, average visit frequency to a convenience store was 2.6 times per week (+8%), average weekly shopper value was £29.09 (+4%) and average basket size was 3.3 items (-3%).
Planned top-up remains the number one mission driving shoppers to convenience stores, however its share of visits has fallen -2.7% to 29.2% during 4WE 02/05. This change has been driven by an increase in shoppers on a food to go mission, up 2.1% to 12.6%.
The data also indicates an increase in the proportion of shopper using delivery and click & collect services. The proportion of convenience store shoppers using delivery services increased 40% to 4.5% in the 4WE 02/05 and for click & collect there was an increase of 8% to 1.1%.
The proportion of convenience store shoppers purchasing price-marked packs or buying on promotion also increased. Over half (55.2%) of convenience store shoppers purchased on promotion in the 4WE 02/05 (+2.5ppts) and 46.5% purchased a price-marked pack (+2.4ppts). The top three categories for PMPs are:
- Chilled foods (exc. milk): 10.9%
- Bakery (wrapped): 7.1%
- Soft Drinks: 6.8%
Commenting on the results, Alice Dolling, Insight Lead at Lumina Intelligence said: “Despite restrictions of the UK hospitality industry beginning to ease, convenience retail benefitted from increased visit frequency and spend in April. Increased movement of people has also had a positive impact on the food-to-go category, which has increased share of total visits. As restrictions ease further, we expect food-to-go to continue to grow its share, particularly as workers return to offices.
“At the beginning of the year, we predicted the trend towards delivery to be one of the lasting legacies of the coronavirus pandemic, as shoppers get used to the convenience it offers. Our latest data continues to support this prediction, with the proportion of convenience store shoppers using delivery to conduct their shopping increasing by 40% in April.”
