Convenience stores are still very much in favour across the UK, and the generations, despite the changing needs of shoppers.

These type of outlets were originally created as a way of providing grocery shopping to inhabitants of Britain’s newly created towns, but this dwindled away with the rise of super marketing and hyper-competitive pricing. Thus, forcing corner shops to adopt new products to appeal to customers.

Corner shops are enjoying something of a return to their roots with Generation X opting to forgo the big weekly shop in favour for smaller, more frequent shops in what can be described a ‘top-up’ shops.

These store are also appealing to the younger generations with many installing their own coffee machines and expanding the on-the-go food and snacks offer.

Millennials and Generation Z seem to be using corner shops for exactly what they are meant to be used for – convenience. Their main reason for visiting is for food-to-go — something fast for their time-starved lifestyles.

Every generation cited that the local proximity of their corner shop was a main driver to their visit.

Where the older two generations prefer to use corner shops as their source of information and news, the younger two generations tend to get their news from smartphones apps and websites. In fact, one study highlighted that Generation Z in particular tends to get their news updates from Instagram (29%), YouTube (22%), and Facebook (15%). In the future, corner shops won't be a source of news for many customers.

The concentration of these shops has transformed and evolved over the years to cater to an ever-growing list of demands and expectations. As The Grocer points out, convenience stores now stand as a melding of multiple shops, with food options like takeaways, postal services from the Post Office, baked goods in line with cafes, top-up facilities, ATM machines, and more.

There is speculation that the convenvience store sub0sector will continue to see growth as a jack-of-all-trades extending to services that are still quite cumbersome in the modern age, such as collecting repeat prescriptions or missed parcels.

According to the latest Local Shop Report from the Association of Convenience Stores, there are 46,262 convenience stores in UK’s mainland, and 28% of these are run by people who have been in the business for more than 25 years.

The report surveyed 2,420 independent retailers in addition to multiple and co-operative businesses representing over 7,500 stores.

(source: Snowshock, image: Spar)