The Convenience Awards recognise, reward and celebrate true champions of convenience retail.

The 23 awards are divided into two groups – self-entry and research-based. Self-entry awards, which can be entered now, will be judged by a panel of trusted independent convenience experts. Research based awards will be calculated through shopper and retailer research powered by Lumina Intelligence’s Convenience Tracking Programme, the largest piece of convenience research in the UK.

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Self-Entry Awards

Community Retailer of the Year

Your entry should describe how you are working with your store to help better your local community or the area surrounding your store.

The Community Retailer of the Year category is open to all retailers who care about their local areas and want to use every resource at their disposal to help it.

Entries must demonstrate:

• A knowledge of an issue affecting your community and how you’ve helped tackle it
• Links to the local community beyond the traditional retailer/customer relationship
• What investments (financial or otherwise) have been made in the community
• Evidence of employing from within the community
• Working with local charities and groups to improve the community

Convenience Rising Star of the Year

The Convenience Rising Star Award is open to retailers of all ages who have opened their first store in the past two years. As well as examining sales results and customer engagement, the judging panel will be looking for examples of innovation from entrants, particularly around taking a new approach to any retailing challenge.

Entries must demonstrate:

• An innovative approach to convenience retailing, be it overall or overcoming a specific challenge
• The ambition to want to improve the entire sector with their ideas and work ethic
• Evidence of how their approach has benefited the business from a financial and engagement point of view

Customer Delivery Store of the Year

Delivery has exploded within the convenience sector due to the pandemic and more retailers than ever are embracing this service. This award recognises retailers that have implemented a successful delivery service that provides the dual function of serving communities and driving sales.

Entries must demonstrate:

• Evidence of a successful delivery service that has either been created or significantly expanded in 2020
• Proof of a system that is fit for purpose for the size and scale of the business. Can be a partnership with delivery partner or run completely on their own
• How they’ve used delivery to grow their business via sales increases, upselling, community outreach
• Effective communication of the delivery service to existing and new customers

Food to Go Store of the Year

Convenience stores have a big opportunity to satisfy customers and build sales with a compelling food to go offer, including sandwiches, hot food, impulse items and drinks to go, with solutions for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks throughout the day. This award will celebrate the leader in the field.

Entries must demonstrate:

• Strong sales results in food to go (evidence of contribution to store’s overall figures needed)
• How it manages waste
• How it markets its food to go offering at various times of the day
• What products it incorporates into its offering
• Innovations within the category

Independent Convenience Store of the Year

A single store or part of a group of 9 stores or fewer under the same ownership, trading under a symbol or retailer’s own brand; (1,500 – 3,000sq ft in size).

Entries must demonstrate:

• Sales growth
• Examples of investment in the business
• Outline key product categories/store strengths
• Explain customer base and how they’ve been engaged with high store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)
• What points of difference the store has to competition
• Use of digital (social media, online presence)
• What additional services they offer (home delivery etc)
  

Large Convenience Store of the Year

Any store larger than 3,000sq ft in selling space, regardless of ownership or retail brand.

Entries must demonstrate:

• Sales growth
• Examples of investment in the business
• Outline key product categories/store strengths
• Explain customer base and how they’ve been engaged with High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)
• What points of difference the store has to competition Use of digital (social media, online presence)
• What additional services they offer (home delivery etc)
  

Multiple Managed Convenience Store of the Year

Part of a group of 10 stores or more under the same ownership, or any store trading under a retail brand as part of a franchise programme; (1,500 – 3,000sq ft in size).

Entries must demonstrate:

• Sales growth (2020 AND 2019 figures are requested as part of these entries due to any potential change causes by Covid-19)
• Examples of investment in the business
• Outline key product categories/store strengths
• Explain customer base and how they’ve been engaged with High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)
• High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)
• What points of difference the store has to competition
• Use of digital (social media, online presence)
• What additional services they offer (home delivery etc

New Store/Refit of the Year

This award is open to stores that have opened from scratch, or re-opened after a significant remodelling, during the calendar year 2022. This award will be given to the store which, in the opinion of the judges, is the best example of a modern convenience store and is open to stores of all sizes, and any ownership structure. If you would like to be considered for this award, please provide all the entry details for the main store awards, and tick the field for New Store/Refit of the Year.

Entries must demonstrate:

• How sales have performed against projections for the store since opening
• What innovations have been introduced and why
• How the new/remodelled store has been marketed to customers
• Explain competition in the area
• What learnings from previous sites were brought to this one (where applicable)

Outline your procedures when it comes to responsible retailing. Provide evidence of staff training to ensure responsible retailing How is responsible retailing communicated to shoppers?

Provide evidence of working with trading standards to improve responsible retailing Provide evidence of any innovative approaches to responsible retailing.

Please upload images to support your entry into this category.

Sales Colleague of the Year

This is a unique opportunity to share the fantastic work achieved by team members who go the extra mile to help their local communities, raise money for national/local charities, and demonstrates impressive entrepreneurial spirit by suggesting profit-generating ideas.

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Excellent customer service by going above and beyond the ‘sale’
• That they have responsibilities in the business that make them essential to the store
• Experience of mentoring others in the business ideas that have helped the store become a bigger part of the community
• Evidence of fundraising activities that they have created and delivered successfully 

Small Convenience Store of the Year

Any store smaller than 1,500sq ft in selling space, regardless of ownership or retail brand.

Entries must demonstrate:

• Sales growth
• Examples of investment in the business
• Outline key product categories/store strengths
• Explain customer base and how they’ve been engaged with
• High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)
• What points of difference the store has to competition
• Use of technology
• Use of digital (social media, online presence)
• What additional services they offer (home delivery etc)

Sustainability Retailer of the Year

With sustainability and plastic high on shoppers’ agenda, this is a chance to show how much you have improved your store’s environmental credentials, with the award taking into account factors including energy use, waste management and packaging reduction.

Entries must demonstrate:

• What sustainability initiatives have been introduced over the past 12 months and evidence of results from these initiatives
• How sustainability within the business is communicated to customers
• Investment in sustainability throughout the store (technology, training, range)
• How they have displayed sustainability credentials throughout its supply chain by product range

The two following awards are nominated from the above categories:

Convenience Retailer of Year

This award will be selected by our panel of expert judges from all the entries of our other self-entry awards. No additional information will need to be provided, but ensure you are considering this award while writing your entries.

Retailer’s Retailer of the Year

This award will be selected by a panel of retailers from all the entries based on the information provided in your entry as a whole. No additional material is required, but make sure your entry shows you in the best possible light and you might be in with a chance of winning!

Research-Based Awards

The Retailers’ Favourite Supplier for Innovation & NPD

This supplier award is based on in-depth interviews with the Lumina Intelligence retailer panel of progressive convenience retailers.

The Retailers’ Favourite Supplier Salesforce

This award is based on retailer ratings from our annual convenience retailer “CTP Frontline Feedback” survey.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Fascia

This award is based on shopper ratings of the convenience fascia across all aspects of the store offer, including availability, ease of shop, range of products and staff friendliness as well as loyalty and purchasing behaviours.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Fascia for BWS

This award is based on shopper satisfaction regarding delivering upon the beers, wines and spirits offer in terms of choice, quality, price and value for money.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Fascia for Fresh & Chilled

This award is based on Shopper's satisfaction ratings for quality of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat & fish, bakery and all other chilled and fresh offerings. 

The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Fascia for Impulse

This award based on the % of shoppers who bought items on impulse when inside the store.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Food to Go Fascia

This award is based on a purchase penetration of the food to go shopper & satisfaction ratings in delivering against shopper’s expectations for food and hot drinks to go.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Forecourt Fascia

This award is based on how loyal a shopper is to this particular forecourt as well as their ratings on forecourt specifics, including cleanliness of pumps, queue time at pumps, parking facilities and car wash.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Managed Convenience Fascia

This award is based on shopper ratings for managed convenience fascia across all aspects of the store offer, including availability, ease of shop, range of products and staff friendliness as well as loyalty and purchasing behaviours.

The Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group

This award is based on shopper expectation and satisfaction ratings ranging from speed of service, value for money, staff friendliness of staff.