IGD’s recently published forecasts out to 2028 highlight convenience as one of the key growth channels in the UK grocery sector. While the total market will grow at an annual compound rate of 3.4%, convenience will track at 4.3%, with channel value hitting £62bn in 2028.
Co-op is the biggest pure play in the convenience space, and this is really embodied in its ‘Pure Convenience’ strategy, with a focus on delivering an optimal offer within a small store footprint targeting the key convenience missions: food-to-go, meal for tonight and top-up.
Its stores are a good example of best practice in convenience store formats, using all available space to merchandise a highly curated range to create an offer capable of meeting a significant breadth of daily shopper needs. Using effective zoning and product adjacencies, Co-op successfully implements layouts that help shoppers complete their missions quickly by offering clear solutions to help decision-making and giving them options to ensure the availability of choice.
At the Co-op Trade Briefing on 14 September, Kate Graham, Operations Director of Co-op Food, will explain the reality of life at the shelf edge, how to pre-empt what the customer wants next and make sure it is available in the optimal placement in-store, plus what cues can be used to trigger desire in the shopper at the shelf-edge, and the difference ‘Pure Convenience’ makes.
Graham commented: “I’m looking forward to sharing the current reality and the challenges we face in retail, covering safer colleagues, safer communities and colleague engagement.
“I’m equally excited to share information on a project called Grand Designs, which looks at future innovations and the opportunities it presents to work collaboratively to deliver the best outcome for our colleagues, suppliers, customers and members.”
Learn more about the Co-op Pure Convenience strategy at the 2023 Trade Briefing from IGD on 14 September in Manchester. Full details and tickets are available here
