Scotland has been highlighted as the only region in growth within the UK convenience sector, according to the newly published UK Convenience Review 2025 from retail analytics expert Talysis.
The whole UK convenience sector was down -1.7% YoY in 2025 in the 52 weeks to 4 January 2026, stated the report, which is based on EPoS data from thousands of independent & symbol group convenience stores.
While all other UK regions were in decline, the Scottish convenience sector was up +3.9% over the same time period.
Talysis claimed that one of the major reasons for the UK-wide decline was the continued impact of inflation, reducing discretionary spend and shifting shopping habits. In addition, the report stated that the ban on disposable vaping, introduced in June this year, had had a disproportionate effect on the convenience market, due to its heavy reliance on the overall tobacco category.
Meanwhile, the firm believed Scotland’s more positive performance could to be due to its regional resilience, which is influenced by local factors such as different competitive pressures and the presence of strong social enterprises.
The review also identified top-performing categories, with soft drinks standing out as “a clear growth engine”, accounting for 17.5% of total convenience value sales, driven predominantly by the energy and sport drinks category.
Within alcohol, the report noted that established segments continue to decline, but RTD products are rapidly gaining share. “Supported by chilled availability and impulse-led execution, RTDs are showing growth in every region and are on track to challenge, if not overtake, cider in 2026,” claimed Talysis.
Meanwhile, it cited that the largest department in convenience, Tobacco and Smoking Alternatives, highlighted the channel’s vulnerability to regulatory change, with the disposable vape ban having altered purchasing behaviour and category economics.
Ed Roberts, MD of Talysis Ltd, said:
“Our Convenience 2025 report provides a wide-ranging and insightful look into a hugely important part of the UK grocery market, based on accurate, robust and up to date information.
“These are challenging times for convenience operators and the extra burdens created by the disposable vaping ban, increased business costs and ongoing inflationary pressures mean that only the best will survive in the long-run. However, it’s not all doom and gloom out there and there are opportunities for retailers to capitalise on. Focusing on customer missions, high-growth categories, agile implementation, and clarity in pricing will be critical to driving growth in a challenging market. Convenience retailers will need to demonstrate their long-standing resilience and ingenuity once more as we go through 2026, but there are some positives to take from our findings.”
