British shoppers are showing more support for their local convenience stores, new research reveals.
According to a survey of 22,000 shoppers, conducted by HIM on behalf of PayPoint, the average spend in convenience stores rose by 15% over the last three years.
The survey also revealed that one in five customers uses their local shop every day while a quarter go at least once a week.
The growth in average spend could be attributed to the personal service offered in convenience stores as three quarters of customers believe that staff in these stores are friendlier than those in larger stores. Speed of service and ease of use were also key factors, with 86% and 85% of customers respectively favouring convenience stores over chain supermarkets.
It wasn’t all good news as the number of shoppers who use their local convenience store to top up has dropped from 74% in 2010 to 52%.
The report also showed that 12% of consumers plan to buy in bulk more than they were a year ago and 17% were more likely to make use of coupons when shopping to help them save money.
Andrew Goddard, retail director of PayPoint UK & Ireland, said: “We’ve long recognised that convenience stores are the engine room of our high streets, and it’s great to see that HIM’s research reflects that. Convenience stores today offer far more than groceries – you can pay bills, send money overseas, pay for energy, access your money and even pay for transport or parking. These are important services, and help consumers recycle their spending straight into the local economy to the benefit of the entire local community.”
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