Rural shops clock £15 billion in sales

Rural shops have achieved £15 billion in sales in 2019, providing around 146,000 jobs, reveals the latest Rural Shop Report by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).

The report, published today (11 February) shows that the UK’s 16,986 rural convenience stores have invested £204 million in their businesses over the last year.

Over half of these stores (53%) are isolated shops, with no other retail/service business nearby. Its no wonder then that people in rural areas have rated their local convenience store as their number one most essential service, in addition to the service that overall has the most positive impact on their local area.

Findings from the report show that the average customer visits their local store 3.5 times a day, with nearly one-fourth of the customers (23%) visiting the store daily.

Around 29 percent of the rural customers travel more than a mile to reach their store, but if their local shop was no longer there, customers would have to travel 2.6 miles on an average, whereas the national average is 1.4 miles.

Rural consumers report that the most valuable services offered in their local convenience store are cash machines, post offices and fresh food to go. Nearly half (45%) of rural shops provide a free to use cash machine for local customers.

Almost a third of colleagues working in the rural shops say they rely on the flexibility to fit their job around childcare commitments or caring for other family members, while jobs in rural shops also offer the security of the guaranteed hours and pay that does not come with gig economy jobs.

James Lowman, chief executive of the ACS, said: “The UK’s rural shops provide a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people, not just through the provision of everyday essentials and a range of services, but also by providing secure local jobs in otherwise isolated communities.

“They do all of this despite facing an uphill battle to gain access to decent broadband speeds and reliable mobile connectivity, and if they have a cash machine on the premises, to keep that machine free to use for customers.

“If this Government is committed to levelling up the UK economy, it must include plans to level the playing field for our rural shops.”