Convenience stores play a valuable role in UK communities, providing essential items while the larger supermarkets and retail giants are sleeping.
The UK, of course, is famously a nation of shopkeepers, so whether you're considering a corner shop newsagents, an off-licence, a post office, or a branded, general store, there's a massive market for daily essentials at convenient times of the day.
The convenience store sector employs over405,000 employees in the UK and generally supports greener customer behaviour, with 57% of convenience store customers making their way to the shop by foot.
Up to 80% of the population lives within a mile of a convenience store, while the average customer visits their local store between three and four times a week. A quarter of all convenience store customers visit every day.
Convenience store franchises are commonly considered essential for community cohesion, alongside post offices, pharmacies, and pubs. Convenience store franchises are considered the third most crucial locations in cities, towns, and villages for reducing loneliness within the community.
Franchising
Franchising provides scope to benefit from the reputation of established brands. A positive reputation is one of the most critical drivers for successfully expanding a business, but a good reputation takes time and effort to build.
The franchise model allows new businesses to adopt reputations through recognisable branding, providing entry into marketplaces that are often difficult to penetrate. A familiar trading name helps you access an existing client base.
New businesses can be complex to set up because there are many business and financial regulations to comply with. Franchises give you a head-start, with a ready-to-go business model and a proven record of profit.
Franchises usually provide training and support, helping you develop the skills to obtain customers and hold onto them.
Convenience store franchises carry access to favourable supply chains that can be inaccessible to independent companies.
Adopt a proven operational model with an existing HR function and access to the supply chain, helping ensure higher profit margins.
Facts about Convenience store franchises
There are almost 46,400 convenience stores in the UK - they earned over £40bn in 2019 alone.
Surprisingly, convenience stores account for 20% of all grocery sales in the UK. More and more, convenience store franchises come armed with EPoS (Electronic Point of Sale) options, providing customers with the opportunity to pay via contactless means - helping increase confidence post-COVID19.
Each convenience store has a potential customer base of up to 1455 patrons throughout England. There's one convenience store per every 1093 people in Scotland, and one for every 1071 people in Wales.
Many convenience store franchises offer other essential services, such as cash machines, click and collect, and post office services.
Convenience stores - by definition - offer purchasing opportunities for customers outside of regular business hours. Almost 20% of convenience store owners work for more than 70 hours a week.
The average customer spend in a convenience store franchise is £6.38 per visit.
Franchising Vs Independent
Banks are often keen to lend start-up collateral to franchises: they're built on robust foundations and have a record of sustainable growth and profitability. Franchises generally present a higher likelihood of a return on investment and a realistic opportunity for individuals to go into business.
Independent businesses are risky, on the other hand. They present a plethora of perils, making it challenging to gain favourable interest rates for start-up loans.
Almost half of all independent UK start-ups struggle during their first two years of trading.
Franchising, on the other hand, offers stability and robust reliability for new businesses.
Going into business on your own can be challenging; franchises offer advice and guidance from the parent company, helping you hit the ground running, with ongoing support as you continue to grow.
Convenience Store Franchises
Explore our list of convenience store franchises, and make a real difference by opening your doors to the community.
Find your brand new start with Franchise Direct.