EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The covid epidemic is a devastating blow to both the world economy and the UK
economy. The severity of the pandemic-induced recession is unmatched in contemporary
times. On March 23, 2020, the United Kingdom entered lockdown for the first time,
putting convenience stores at the frontline of a worldwide catastrophe. Convenience
stores have been on the front lines throughout the pandemic, ensuring that products are
still on shelves when everywhere else is empty, delivering to people's homes on the same
day when supermarket delivery slots are booked weeks in advance, and being the first to
adapt their businesses to be Covid-secure through the use of prominent signage, social
distancing reminders, sanitising stations, Perspex screens, and other measures.

My goal in writing this essay is to examine and briefly explain the reasons for the shift in
customer behaviour. A look at how governments and businesses are adapting to keep
stores supplied to satisfy customer demand is next in the series. Since the covid period,
convenience stores have become more competitive because they represent a bright spot of
the economy so every retailer needs its own pricing and marketing tactics, as well as a
team of employees, to provide the greatest customer service. This essay will discuss all of
the aforementioned points in detail.
 I. INTRODUCTION

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the British government instructed citizens to remain
indoors, avoid stores, and only leave the house when absolutely necessary. It's still not
clear what the long-term consequences will be for the retail industry as a result of the
Coronavirus lockdown. However, convenience store owners have risen to every
obstacle posed by the pandemic, and in doing so, they have strengthened their position
in their local communities.

Consumer behaviour, supply chain operations, competition, retail marketing and

pricing, and employment all took a hit as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, as I
show in this essay.

II. IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PANDEMIC ON

CONVENIENCE STORES

1. Consumer Behaviour

Regardless of epidemiology, the impact of the spread of COVID-19 will have broader
ramifications, not only for how economies run but also for how consumers behave. The
COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown and social distance laws have altered the
purchasing and shopping routines of consumers, resulting in an increase in the
procurement of food, beverages, hygiene products, and medications and a rise in
stockpiling. Retailers have to take multi-level approach to the running of business to meet
the multi-level shopping activities of customers ( Rosemary Varley,2001).

A further modification in customer purchasing behaviour concerned the physical place of

sale. This shift happened as a result of consumers' efforts to reduce the number of
journeys to physical stores (purchase frequency) (Laguna et al., 2020; Principato et al.,
2020, in press; Wang et al., 2020). Consumers stopped purchasing from large retailers
and congested locations, choosing instead small local retailers (Li et al., 2020b). During
the pandemic, if individuals are obliged to stay at home or close to home, then modest
retail stores that carry commodities that the ordinary person uses on a daily basis, such as
snack foods, toiletries, and nicotine products, are ideal. Moreover, because individuals
like to spend less time shopping, a trip to the nearby convenience store is frequently
preferable. Recent data by Barclaycard Payments indicates that nearly two-thirds of
Britons have shopped locally during the past year.

Figure 1. Model of consumer behavior during the COVID-19 crisis.

2. Supply Chain Operations

The COVID-19 epidemic has tested supply chains more than any other incident in recent
memory, impacting all segments including agricultural production, food processing,
transit and logistics, retailers, and final demand.In the early stages of a crisis, stock-outs
are more prevalent owing to panic buying that effects the vertical supply chain. This
problem got increasingly contentious in nations such as the United Kingdom, which
relies heavily on imports from other nations. 48 percent of food products, including 84
percent of fresh fruits and vegetables, are imported into the United Kingdom, mostly
from European nations such as Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands..

Both governments and corporations have made attempts to strengthen supply chain
resilience in response to prior setbacks. As seen by the restocked shelves of food shops,
supply networks reacted swiftly to a change in demand. In this environment, reliance on
local suppliers became extremely vital. Developing a resilient supply chain enables
businesses to reduce the negative consequences of supply interruptions and outperform
their competition. It is evident that the expansion of the convenience industry presents
both suppliers and logistics providers with new business prospects. Independent retailers
have responded quickest, introducing new services, sourcing PPE, and finding new
supplies to fill gaps on shelves then created the increse in revenue and efficient consumer
respond. (Kurt Salmon Associates 1993).

Figure 2. Information flow in an ECR system

3. Competition
There are several national operators and retailers in the United Kingdom, including the
Co-op, McColl's, Waitrose, M&S Food, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Spar, Bestway, and
Booker, each of which has a variety of convenience store styles and stocks a vast
assortment of items. It is possible to say that convenience stores are the bright light of the
economy during the current time of prosperity with the high turnover in 2019,2020 and
2021 ( see Appendix), but this also implies that market rivalry is fiercer than ever.

Spar continues to establish and develop its own brand, notably beating out larger
competitors by proclaiming its complete own-brand wine selection vegan-friendly. Unitas
has begun working with Morrisons to expand its private label portfolio. In addition to
Best-one, Bestway acquired Costcutter last year, extending its supply arrangement with
Co-op to include 2,500 Co-op-branded items. Of course, all Nisa merchants may use the
Co-op brand. While Tesco's Booker logo typically stock Booker items, last year they
started stocking Jack's – Tesco's discounter endeavour.

Figure 3 . Market share of grocers in Great Britain (GB) monthly from January 2017 to
April 2022
Source: Kantaworldpannel
As a result of the coronavirus, Ocado gained the largest market share. From March to
May 2020, Asda lost about a percent of its market share. Tesco and Sainsbury's had the
biggest market share, 42.3 percent, in April 2022. The 'big four' supermarkets: Tesco,
Sainsbury's, Asda, and Morrisons, controlled the grocery retail sector before discounters.
Tesco was the top store retailer with 26 percent in 2019, when Covid first appeared,
followed by Co-op with 20 percent. M&S Simply Food stands out as the most unique and
trusted brand, according to a poll of consumer sentiments.

Figure 4. Leading c-store retailers, shares of all retail sales, 2019

Source: Mintel
 Figure 5. Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, 2020
Source: Mintel

4. Retail Marketing and Pricing

4.1 Price
Typically, smaller retailers have higher operating expenses than their bigger counterparts,
including higher rents in prime metropolitan areas. Additionally, delivery costs are
greater than for supermarkets, as smaller quantities are delivered more frequently. In
addition to opening later than bigger supermarkets, many convenience stores also operate
on Sundays for longer hours, which increases their operational costs. An survey by the
Daily Express discovered that buying 15 branded essentials from a convenience store
may cost up to 19 percent more than at a major supermarket. Some research indicates that
a basket of items from a variety of small, local stores costs £31.09, compared to £26.06 at
a large supermarket. Some things were far more costly than in a grocery store.
Convenience shops are under to more pressure on running expenses and purchasing
prices than supermarkets, but they nonetheless manage to offer competitive rates to
customers. (James Lowman, head executive of the Association of Convenience Stores,
2020).

4.2 Marketing
Each convenience store business has its own marketing tactics consisting of
demographically and geographically specific, custom-tailored messages.
Some or all of the following are frequent grocery store marketing techniques:
Common grocery store marketing strategies include some or all of the following
techniques:
- Promotional Pricing
- Social Media Outreach
- Offer Tastings
- Personalized In-Store Advertisements
 - Online Print Marketing Materials
- Charity Work
- Branded Reusable Shopping Bags

5. Employment
According to data from the 2019 Local Shop Report, there are around 405,000
individuals employed in the convenience store industry, with 30 percent of them
providing care for other family members. During the covid season, the convenience
sector provides a wide range of employment options. The Co-op has announced
intentions to build three new stores a week until December as part of an ambitious growth
initiative that will create 1,000 new jobs. As a result of the epidemic, Tesco has decided
to permanently engage 16,000 more workers to assist its supermarkets and convenience
stores as well as delivery centres. Lidl stated that it will create about 2,500 temporary
positions in its 800 UK locations.

However, convenience stores had a challenging year, as they had to remain open
throughout every local and national lockdown while ensuring the safety of their
customers and personnel. Convenience store owners and staff are among the hardest
working individuals in the United Kingdom and are indispensable to their respective
communities (James Lowman, chief executive of Association of Convenience Stores).
The 2021 Local Shop Report, released by the Association of Convenience Stores,
illustrates how much shops have laboured over the last year to keep communities afloat
and ensure that consumers have access to sufficient supplies. In the last year, 49 percent
of independent convenience shop owners have reported working every day, twice the
proportion from the previous year (24 percent), and one in ten has worked more than 70
hours per week.

III. CONCLUSION
The impact of Coronavirus is compounding retail's existing issue. Although its long-term
effects are still largely unknown, it is certain that the Coronavirus crisis has already
altered the convenience store industry and will continue to do so, necessitating that
retailers and retail employees be aware of the situation and be prepared to deal with any
problems that may arise.
IV. REFERENCES

1. www.boyden.com. (n.d.). Convenience in a Time of Coronavirus. [online]

Available at: https://www.boyden.com/media/convenience-in-a-time-of-
coronavirus-18524086/index.html [Accessed 20 April 2022].
2. Arora, N., Charm, T., Grimmelt, A., Ortega, M., Robinson, K., Sexauer, C.,
Staack, Y., Whitehead, S. and Yamakawa, N. (2020). A global view of how
consumer behavior is changing amid COVID-19.
3. ‌Schleper, M.C., Gold, S., Trautrims, A. and Baldock, D., 2021. Pandemic-induced
knowledge gaps in operations and supply chain management: COVID-19’s
impacts on retailing. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management.
4. Nazir, S. (2021). How have convenience stores turned the corner amid Covid-
19? [online] www.retailgazette.co.uk. Available at:
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/03/how-have-convenience-stores-
turned-the-corner-amid-covid-19/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2022].
5. Carrol, N. (2019). Convenience Stores - UK - June 2019 - Market Research
Report. [online] Mintel.com. Available at:
https://reports.mintel.com/display/919542/ [Accessed 3 May 2022].

6. Malik, S., et al. ProductChain: Scalable Blockchain Framework to Support

Provenance in Supply Chains. Conference paper, 2018.
Doi:10.1109/NCA.2018.8548322
7. Grant, K. (2021). ‘I was up at 4.30am and home at 1am running my corner shop
in lockdown - I burned out’. [online] inews.co.uk. Available at:
https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/corner-shop-lockdown-open-time-
convenience-stores-burnout-holiday-1189306 [Accessed 4 May 2022].
8. Fortune, A. (2020). Co-op to create 1,000 new jobs through estate expansion.
[online] Convenience Store. Available at:
https://www.conveniencestore.co.uk/news/co-op-to-create-1000-new-jobs-
through-estate-expansion/648031.article [Accessed 2 May 2022].
9. Banham, L. (2020). Coronavirus: convenience store staff listed as key workers.
[online] betterRetailing. Available at: https://www.betterretailing.com/legislation-
competition/coronavirus-convenience-store-key-workers/ [Accessed 29 Apr.
2022].
10. Chloe (2021). No Days Off: Half of Convenience Store Owners Work Every Day
over Last 12 Months | ACS Latest News. [online] www.acs.org.uk. Available at:
https://www.acs.org.uk/news/no-days-half-convenience-store-owners-work-every-
day-over-last-12-months [Accessed 11 May 2022].
11. Schleper, M.C., Gold, S., Trautrims, A. and Baldock, D., 2021. Pandemic-induced
knowledge gaps in operations and supply chain management: COVID-19’s
impacts on retailing. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management.
12. Briggs, F. (2020). Keeping it local: convenience store sales growth doubles
between 2019 and 2020, Mintel reveals. [online] Retail Times. Available at:
https://www.retailtimes.co.uk/keeping-it-local-convenience-store-sales-growth-
doubles-between-2019-and-2020-mintel-reveals/ [Accessed 5 May 2022].
13. Doherty, S., Botwright, K. and World Economic Forum (2020). COVID-19: What
past supply chain disruptions can teach us. [online] World Economic Forum.
Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/covid-19-coronavirus-
lessons-past-supply-chain-disruptions/ [Accessed 10 May 2022].
14. Do, Q.N., Mishra, N., Wulandhari, N.B.I., Ramudhin, A., Sivarajah, U. and
Milligan, G., 2021. Supply chain agility responding to unprecedented changes:
empirical evidence from the UK food supply chain during COVID-19
crisis. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.
15. Public Health England (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on grocery
shopping behaviours. [online] Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
attachment_data/file/932350/Grocery_Purchasing_Report.pdf.
16. Butler, S. (2020). Tesco gives permanent jobs to 16,000 staff taken on in Covid
crisis. The Guardian. [online] 24 Aug. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/24/tesco-gives-permanent-jobs-
to-16000-staff-taken-on-in-covid-crisis [Accessed 3 May 2022].
17. Yang, Y., Li, O., Peng, X. and Wang, L., 2020. Consumption trends during the
COVID-19 crisis: How awe, coping, and social norms drive utilitarian
purchases. Frontiers in psychology, 11, p.2695.
18. Simpson, M. (2021). Retailer competition in a post-COVID world. [online]
www.rmi.co. Available at: https://www.rmi.co/retailer-competition-in-a-post-
covid-worlde [Accessed 26 Apr. 2022].
19. Varley, R 2014, Retail Product Management : Buying and Merchandising, Taylor
& Francis Group, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [14 May
2022].
20. Office for National Statistics (2021). Retail industry by Class - Office for National
Statistics. [online] www.ons.gov.uk. Available at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation
/adhocs/13892retailindustrybyclass [Accessed 6 May 2022].
V. APPENDIX
APPENDIX 1 : Retail Industry by class

Source: Office for National Statistics