Despite the mixed weather across the country, convenience store retailers benefited from the supermarkets being closed on Easter Sunday to rack up some extra sales.

Punit Patel of Nisa Weyhill Stores in Andover, Hampshire, saw his sales double on Easter Sunday. “Eggs, confectionery, booze, grocery and chilled all sold especially well, helped by the fact the supermarkets were closed,” he told C-Store.

Don Nel of Frensham Village Shop in Surrey said the few days leading up to Easter were very busy for him. “We experienced really brisk trade in the run-up to Easter as people stocked up on basics for family get-togethers,” he said.

Poor weather on the Bank Holiday Monday did dampen the spirits of some retailers, however strong business for the overall weekend made up for it. Mark Canniford of Spar in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, said that when the weather was good, trade was up. “Friday, Saturday and Sunday were busy, especially Sunday as the supermarkets were closed,” he said. “It made a huge difference as people who couldn’t go to the supermarket used c-stores instead. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t hold up for Bank Holiday Monday so business was poor on that day.”


Your views


“Sales for the Easter weekend were up 18% compared with last year. A busy Easter helped cap off a successful few months for us.”
Paul Castle
Barlby Village Stores, Selby, Yorkshire

“Easter Sunday is always busy here. It’s like Christmas; people seem to think the supermarkets will never open again and rush to us!”
Pauline Irvine
Spar Lagan Valley, Lisburn, Northern Ireland

“Easter Sunday was the busiest day of the year so far. Easter eggs did really well in the run-up to Sunday and we had sold most of them by the weekend. We had some offers on fresh meats that were really popular with customers.”
Guy Warner
Budgens Broadway, Worcestershire

Ramesh Shingadia at Londis Southwater, West Sussex, was also a victim of the poor weather. “On Easter Sunday we were 10% down on last year because of the weather,” he said. “However, we did well in the lead-up to Easter. Flowers, fresh produce, booze and Easter eggs all sold well. The big challenge is ordering the right amount of eggs - people only start buying them a few days before Easter when the multiples run out. We sold our last on Sunday night!”

Paul Hudson of Spar Seasalter in Kent decided not to compete with the supermarkets on medium eggs and stocked a premium range instead. “Sales have been fabulous - we were up 18% on last Easter and Easter Sunday turned out to be our busiest day so far,” said Paul.

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