The CCTV footage of two men police want to identify in relation to the burglary at the Bargain Booze store on Preston Road, Chorley (Photo: Lancashire Police)
A convenience store in Chorley was robbed of cigarettes worth £4,000 in a distraction burglary.
The incident happened at the Bargain Booze outlet on Preston Road at 6pm on Saturday (4 December).
The CCTV footage shows a man escaping with a bag containing the stolen items as another man distracted the member of staff behind the till.
Officers said the first man has gone into the cellar of the premises and helped himself to around £4,000 in cigarettes.
“This was clearly a planned burglary, with one man stealing the cigarettes while the second distracted the store worker,” PC Pete Burns, of Lancashire Police, said.
“I would ask anybody with information or anybody who recognises the men in the CCTV to contact police as soon as possible.”
Officers have issued visuals of the two suspects, appealing for information to identify them.
Anyone with information is asked to email 3220@lancashire.police.uk or call 101, quoting log 0483 of December 5, 2021.
Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or online.
A plastic-free grocery store in Edinburgh has called for urgent action on youth crime after a violent incident linked to underage vaping left its shopfront damaged.
The Refillery, an ethical grocery store in Newington, was among the businesses affected when a group of teenagers vandalised its windows following an altercation at a nearby store that refused to sell them vapes.
The incident, which took place around 9pm on Friday (31 January), saw the teenagers allegedly swinging a pallet and attacking staff at another shop before moving onto the street, where they caused damage to The Refillery.
“Seems they were angry that a shop on the same street wouldn't sell them vapes (as they're underage). They ran riot in the shop near us swinging a pallet around and attacking the staff,” the store wrote in a social media post.
“Thankfully we were closed but the chaos spilled onto the street and they somehow felt the need to cause damage to our shop.”
The store called out local MP Ian Murray, who serves as the secretary of state for Scotland, questioning what measures are being taken to curb youth violence in the area. The post highlighted the increasing trend of aggressive behaviour towards retailers, particularly those refusing to sell age-restricted products.
While The Refillery does not sell vapes, cigarettes, or alcohol, the presence of stores allegedly supplying underage customers is bringing trouble to the area, the post claimed.
“There's very little the other shop keepers can do when these teenagers launch their attacks as they're too young and many are girls too. They simply have to stand back. Which I imagine is very frustrating,” the post read.
“What's going to be done @ianmurraymp to stop teenagers running feral on your doorstep?”
Last week, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has flagged a surge in retail crime across the UK, with its latest annual crime survey revealing that incidents of violence and abuse soared to over 2,000 per day in 2023/24—up from 1,300 the previous year. Among these, 70 incidents per day involved a weapon, more than double the previous year’s rate.
Police Scotland confirmed receiving a report about the incident, adding that the enquiries were ongoing.
Take-home sales at the grocers rose by 4.3 per cent over the four weeks to 26 January compared with one year ago, according to the latest data from Kantar, which also shows a consistent rise on spending on promotions and fresh produce. Share of symbols and independents however continued on a decline.
January spelled relief for shoppers as grocery price inflation slowed to 3.3 per cent over the four weeks.
With household budgets typically stretched at this time of year, retailers played their part in easing the pressure on purse strings.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, comments, “Supermarkets were dishing out the discounts this New Year, and consumers responded. Spending on promotions rose year-on-year by £274 million, accounting for 27.2 per cent of sales – the highest level in January since 2021.
“People also turned to non-branded products to help keep costs down, with own label as a proportion of sales hitting a record high of 52.3% in January. Spending on supermarkets’ own lines was up 5.4%, helped by consumers buying premium own label products in the couple of days leading up to New Year’s Eve."
Typically, shoppers have an eye on wellness, not just their wallets, at the start of the year – and 2025 was no exception. More than 10 per cent of the average consumer’s January grocery bill was spent on fresh fruit, vegetables and salad, totalling £1.2 billion – £193 million more than in December.
Nathan Ward, business unit director for usage and out-of-home at Kantar, adds, “Rolling into the new year, health tends to play a bigger role in our grocery choices. Over a quarter of take-home food and drink in January is chosen with health at least partially in mind, as shoppers tell us they want to eat less processed food and feel the benefit of fibre and vitamins.”
Protein products pulled their weight at the tills too as demand for bars, bites and drinks boosted spend on sports nutrition products. Sales for this category at supermarkets were 47% higher than last year, with over two million households buying these items during the month.
Sales of low and no alcohol drinks were 7 per cent higher than last January, and 6.7 per cent of households bought at least one of these alternatives.
Fraser McKevitt comments: “It’s no surprise to see the low and no alcohol trend make its mark in January, but given some of the generational splits we have seen in grocery, it’s interesting that older shoppers are just as likely to take these products home as younger ones. Not everyone signed up for dry January though, with 49% of people buying an alcoholic drink this month – but this is a pretty big drop from December’s 76%.”
Lidl’s sales rose 7.4% over the 12 weeks to 26 January, making it three continual years of growth for the discounter, whose share hit 7.2%. Aldi accelerated for the third consecutive month with sales up 4.2% and its market share increasing to 10.2%.
Ocado was the fastest-growing grocer for the ninth consecutive month. Spending at the online retailer grew by 11.3% meaning it now holds 1.9% of the market. Joint owner of Ocado Retail, M&S has also seen a strong 12 week period of growth with grocery sales increasing by 10.5%* in its brick-and-mortar stores.
Britain’s largest grocer Tesco gained the most share, its 28.5 per cent hold of the market is 0.7 per cent higher than this time last year, and it also saw its fastest rise in sales since April 2024 at 5.6 per cent. Sainsbury’s outpaced the market at 4.2 per cent sales growth, increasing its share from 15.7 to 15.9 per cent. Morrisons has 8.6% of the market while Asda’s portion is 12.6 per cent.
Convenience retailer Co-op returned to growth, with sales rising by 0.8 per cent giving it a 5.2 per cent share of the market while symbols and independents again saw dip of 5.8 per cent.
Convenience retailers are bracing for financial strain as the government lays legislation confirming the new National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates.
While over 3 million workers in retail, hospitality, and other sectors are set to benefit from increased pay, retailers have warned of significant challenges ahead.
The legislation, laid before Parliament today (4 February), will see the NLW rise to £12.21 per hour for workers aged 21 and over, up from £11.44 from 1 April. Meanwhile, the NMW for 18- to 20-year-olds will increase by £1.40 to £10.00 per hour, representing a record boost for younger workers.
The government claims these changes will put approximately £1.8 billion into workers' pockets over the next six years, enhancing financial stability for millions of families and driving consumer spending.
“This government promised a genuine living wage for working people that will support people with the cost of living, creating a workforce that is fit and ready to help us deliver number one mission to growth the economy,” chancellor Rachel Reeves said.
“This pay boost for millions of workers is a significant step towards delivering on that promise.”
For retailers, however, the rising wage bill presents difficult decisions. Evidence submitted by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) to the Low Pay Commission last year highlighted the knock-on effects of past wage hikes. Over half (53%) of convenience retailers reported reducing investment in their businesses to cope with increased wage costs. Another 53 per cent had to raise prices in-store, while 47 per cent saw a direct hit to their profits.
The government insists that the wage increase is a step toward fairer pay structures and economic growth. It also marks the beginning of efforts to align the NMW for younger workers with the NLW.
Low Pay Commission chair Baroness Stroud said the increases recommended by them are a “big step” towards achieving a “genuine” living wage, though she has stated earlier that data already shows signs of employers finding it harder to adapt to minimum wage increases.
“It’s important we continue to assess the effects of these changes on employers and workers; to that end, the Low Pay Commission will be consulting with both groups in the coming months,” Baroness Stroud added.
The changes from April will mean:
The National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over will rise from £11.44 per hour to £12.21 per hour.
The National Minimum Wage for 18- to 20-year-olds rises from £8.60 to £10.00 per hour.
The apprenticeship rate, and for 16- to 17-year-olds rises from £6.40 per hour to £7.55 per hour.
Post Office’s new Consultative Council has met for the first time last week on Jan 27 to inform the strategic direction of the organisation. Its remit is to provide a representative postmaster perspective on strategy, culture, funding and governance.
Going forward, the Council agenda could include topics such as banking hubs, the Government’s Green Paper on the future of Post Office, technology strategy or new product development.
The ’New Deal for Postmasters’, announced in November 2024, sets out an ambition to deliver a quarter of a billion pounds boost to postmaster and strategic partner income by 2030.
These improvements to remuneration are subject to funding discussions with government which are positive and ongoing. Postmasters and strategic partners benefited from the first of these increased payments with a £20 million boost to their pay packets in December.
The Council, chaired by Postmaster Non-Executive Director Brian Smith, will meet regularly ahead of Post Office board meetings and a summary of discussions will be published for postmasters to access in a new regular newsletter from the postmaster non-executive directors.
It is comprised of groups representing postmasters, including the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, Communication Workers Union, Voice of the Postmaster, alongside Post Office's postmaster non-executive directors and Post Office leadership.
Brian Smith is the postmaster for Freefield Post Office on the Shetland Islands and has run the branch for 19 years. Brian was appointed to the Post Office board as a non-executive director in December 2024 and chairs the Consultative Council. Brian Smith said:
“The Consultative Council is an example of the changes which are being implemented at Post Office following evidence heard at the Public Inquiry about the need to embed the postmaster voice throughout the organisation – from the board to the frontline. I am looking forward to bringing almost two decades of experience running a post office to the Council.”
It is one of several changes made or in development at Post Office to ensure the postmaster voice is clearly heard, considered and responded to at every level:
A panel of postmasters will be convened to review operational policies and practice on complex issues and provides feedback and challenge on how they can be improved.
A new wellbeing initiative launched in October 2024 is the result of a collaborative project with the National Federation of Postmasters, Voice of the Postmaster and Post Office colleagues, focused on providing urgent professional care and subject matter expertise on topics ranging from branch security to customer behaviours.
Since August 2024, thirteen regional listening forums have taken place across the UK, with 318 postmasters in attendance, covering a broad range of topics.
The Postmaster Conference, taking place in March, is being co-designed and hosted by postmasters for the first time.
AU Vodka saw a whopping 111 per cent YoY value growth in 2024 on the convenience channel e-commerce service platform Snappy Shopper while Unilever’s ice cream category also saw a growth.
According to "Snappy Media Insights" released by Snappy Shopper, AU Vodka’s continued success was underpinned by a strategic, multi-format festive activation, maximum presence and conversion during the peak trading period.
"RTD cans were promoted to capture impulse purchases and on-the-go consumption. 35cl bottles provided a convenient gifting and trial-size option, widening audience appeal. 70cl bottles maintained strong performance as a key basket driver for night-in and celebratory occasions," states the report.
By leveraging a combination of targeted in-app placements and well-timed promotions, AU Vodka successfully strengthened its position as a leading brand on Snappy Shopper.
Another category that saw a huge growth in 2024 was Unilever’s ice cream category.
2024 has been a standout year for Unilever’s ice cream category on Snappy Shopper, delivering 25 per cent volume growth and 28 per cent value growth year-on-year.
The e-commerce played attributed Unilever's success to seasonal activations, optimised in-app positioning and consumer preference for impulse and treat-led categories within Q-commerce.
With average order values nearly 4x higher than in-store transactions, Snappy Shopper is proving to be a game-changer for independent retailers, helping them expand their reach and boost revenues in a highly competitive market, states the report.
The past year has been transformative for Snappy Shopper, solidifying its position as a leader in the UK’s q-commerce market.
According to a report released on Jan 24, Snappy Shopper closed out 2024 with a record-breaking December, achieving rapid growth and outperforming the market, which saw an 8 per cent increase in Q4 2024.
Unprecedented weekly trading, record revenues, and soaring customer adoption have cemented Snappy Shopper as the go-to partner for independent retailers, retail groups, and brands.
Snappy’s technology enables independent and group retailers alike to operate quick commerce profitably, with retailers throughout the UK leveraging Snappy’s enablement technology to deliver remarkable trading results.
During December, Hayat’s Premier Store, based in Dundee, hit the milestone of more than £200,000 worth of grocery deliveries in a single month from a convenience store, at times doing more deliveries per hour than a nearby supermarket.