The ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) have published the Local Shop Report 2021

The report provides key insights into sales and jobs, the services offered by local shops and profiles of the ownership, employees and customers in the convenience sector.

The report found that there are 47,079 convenience stores in the UK, employing around 392,000 people, with a total sales value of £43.2 billion per annum and a contribution of 8.7 billion in taxes.

The 2021 Local Shop Report contains an entire chapter devoted to the investment that convenience retailers have made in their businesses.

Over the past year, convenience retailers have invested over £534 million, with their main investments focusing on refrigeration, internal building maintenance and shelving.

Convenience stores trade close to where people work and live, if they were no longer there over one third of customers would have to travel over two miles to access essential services.

- A copy of the full report can be downloaded from the ACS website