A new event for the convenience sector took place at the National Railway Museum in York last Thursday, hosted by specialist convenience insight agency Talysis. Convenience Connected 2026 brought together retailers, brands, suppliers and technology partners from across the convenience ecosystem for a unique day of insight, discussion and collaboration.
With a focus on the future, delegates heard from renowned independent retailer Bobby Singh (businessman and entrepreneur), followed by Co-op Wholesale (Robbie Moore, Trading Director), Lindt (Alex Hillhouse, Convenience & Wholesale Controller), Smart Store Network (Jonty Edwards, Commercial & Operations Director, Rascal Systems & Tim Fairs, SG Retail) and PayPoint (Anthony Sappor, Banking & Digital Engagement Services Director). Each presentation was followed by a Q&A session, providing further insights into each speaker’s perspective.
Ed Roberts, Founder and MD of Talysis Ltd, set the scene for the day with his opening presentation, outlining the factors shaping the future of convenience, the challenges it faces and posing the question “If we were designing the convenience sector from scratch today, what would we build differently and what practical actions should we all begin taking tomorrow?”
The key takeout from Bobby Singh was for all parties to understand and help solve real problems in-store, with a plea for technology in particular that works within his systems and structures. He also emphasised that everything must either save time, make money or serve the customer better.
Offering a further perspective from retailers, but with a wholesale angle, Robbie Moore stressed that the market needs real growth and shared the six key areas Co-op Wholesale is focused on within its convenience store of the future. He implored brands to make brand planning more fun for retailers and instore, while stressing the importance of the Gen Z opportunity within convenience. Having launched Talking Shop earlier this year, Co-op Wholesale’s digital and insight hub for independent retailers, Robbie also underlined the importance of making category insights more relevant for the sector, stating that “£500 a week in the till means more to a retailer than an £18 billion category value.”
The brand standpoint was provided by Alex Hillhouse, who demonstrated how Lindt was recognising the potential of convenience and showed the results of addressing the channel’s complexity head on. He emphasised the importance of putting mission before category to really increase sales and advised brands and service providers to “get more people out to depots” in order to fully understand the sector.
Announcing a new opportunity for the sector, Jonty Edwards & Tim Fairs talked about the retail media revolution and its importance to convenience, whilst unveiling their Smart Store Network initiative. This social media solution will be launched in November through 200 stores, with thousands more stores coming on board next year.
The final presentation of the day saw Anthony Sappor talk about PayPoint Engage, utilising the technology that’s already in place within 40,000 stores to drive brand activation and generate insights. The next stage of this initiative will pilot in Q1 next year, offering a shared retailer engagement platform that encompasses support across the supplier base and utilises AI informed by unique convenience data.
Wrapping up the more formal session of the day, Ed Roberts then brought all the speakers together for a final panel discussion, before delegates enjoyed time networking and exploring ideas for further collaboration.
During the day, delegates will explore the realities of convenience today, aiming to challenge current thinking and turn insight into practical solutions which can help shape the UK convenience channel of the future, together.
Talysis holds York Convenience Connected 2026 event Image: Talysis
Summing up his experience of the day, Bobby Singh said, “It was a real pleasure to be involved, and I really enjoyed the day. It was great to see everyone sharing experiences, having honest conversations and learning from each other. I feel privileged to have been there, representing independent retailers and I look forward to attending future events. As I said in the final discussion, the sector has such huge potential and is delivering amazing results despite all the challenges we’re facing. Just imagine what we could achieve, if we collaborate and work together to level the playing field!”
Ed Roberts commented: “We’re delighted to have hosted such a fantastic event for the sector and we’ve had the most incredible feedback from delegates. We wanted to deliver a thought-provoking, pragmatic discussion with senior stakeholders across the convenience ecosystem and to strengthen the collaborative mindset amongst industry leaders. It’s clear from the comments we’ve received to date that we delivered this and more and I’d like to thank all of our speakers, our delegates and the Talysis team. We’re keen to make this an annual forum and look forward to developing Convenience Connected into a ‘must attend’ event that helps to define the future of convenience.”