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The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) is celebrating the many services provided by the UK’s almost 19,000 rural convenience stores, but highlights the significant challenges that lay ahead.

The 2025 Rural Shop Report, launched today, sets out the ways rural retailers make a difference in their communities, making a case for further support from government to ensure that rural shops can continue to play their essential role in the future.

Key findings from the 2025 Rural Shop Report include the news that rural shops provide secure, flexible jobs for over 178,000 people, that 40% of rural shops are the only convenience store in rural areas, with none others nearby, that they generated £18.5bn in sales last year and that these retailers have invested over £240m in their businesses over the last year.

The report goes on to highlight the unique challenges rural retailers face, including a lack of connectivity, issues with the cost and availability of deliveries, and more.

ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “Hundreds of thousands of people in isolated areas across the UK rely on their local shop to provide them with the products and services that they need. If rural shops aren’t able to survive, invest and adapt, nobody will step in to host a Post Office, offer other essential services or promote the human interaction and social glue that binds those communities.

“These shops need to be supported by both local and national policymakers at a time when costs are rising significantly as a result of the budget. We’re calling on all MPs in rural constituencies to commit their support for the rural shops that trade at the heart of communities.”

The full report is available to read here.