Post offices, convenience stores crucial in rural areas, says Rural England report

Convenience stores will continue to play a key role in rural communities as rural consumers continue to value them, states the latest report by Rural England, highlighting how smaller town stores have proved “more resilient than might be expected” during the pandemic.

Published on Wednesday(12) by Rural England CIC, “State of Rural Services 2021: The Impact of the Pandemic” highlights how post offices and local convenience stores have become more crucial in rural areas and smaller towns since residents there have less access to sources of cash than their urban counterparts.

Over recent years many bank branches have closed and more ATMs now incur a user charge. However, the Post Office network retains its considerable reach in rural areas and there is growing use of its facility for accessing bank current accounts. Most rural convenience stores (70 per cent) also offer cashback, states the report.

“Through the pandemic small, local based food stores were highly valued by rural residents and many stores adapted their offer like introducing home deliveries,” states the report.

The surveyed rural residents have made greater use of such stores since March 2020, whilst making less use of supermarkets while farm shops have also been valued by many during the pandemic.

Smaller towns have proved more resilient than might be expected, with many showing positive signs of recovery as footfall returns, states the report.

Calling on for continued support to many rural businesses to help them recover, the report states that 93 per cent of rural residents increased their use of those online services that they already used before the pandemic, while over half started using some online services for the first time, for clothing and food shopping.

However, there is risk of entrenching barriers to those who may find it hard to adapt or are unable to access fast, reliable digital connectivity where infrastructure still lags behind, states the report.