Closed for now!

Entries for the Convenience Awards are currently closed. Click here to register your interest for next year!

The Convenience Awards recognised, rewarded, and celebrated true champions of convenience retail. The 19 awards were 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.

Entry deadline: Tuesday 15th August

Deadline extended: Tuesday 22nd August

Entries are now closed. 

Self Entry Categories

The Community Initiative of the Year category recognises an idea or initiative carried out by a retailer/store team that has helped their local community. Have you helped your community in a big way? Have you come up with a new idea to help groups near you? We want to hear from you. Entries must show how the store team has identified a particular issue in their community and worked to help remedy/overcome it.

Before you enter:

  • • Have you seen an issue in the community and helped overcome it?
  • Can you display in detail the investment (time, money or otherwise) that went into tackling the issue
  • Can you provide evidence positive impact of the initiative in the community?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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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.

Before you enter, have you:

  • 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?
  • Made investments (financial or otherwise) in the community?
  • Evidence of employing from within the community?
  • Working with local charities and groups to improve the community?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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The Convenience Rising Star Award is open to retailers of all ages who have opened their first store or become manager in the past three 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.

Before you enter, are you or do you know someone:

  • That has an enthusiastic and innovative approach to convenience retailing, be it overall or overcoming a specific challenge?
  • Has the ambition to want to improve the entire sector with their ideas and work ethic?
  • Can provide evidence of how their approach has benefited the business from a financial and engagement point of view
  • Who has opened their first store or become a store manager between 31 May 2020 and 31 May 2023?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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This award recognises retailers that have implemented a successful delivery service that provides the dual function of serving communities and driving sales.

Before you enter, do you have:

  • Evidence of a successful delivery service that has either been created or significantly expanded between 1 January 2022 and 31 May 2023?
  • 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

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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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.

Before you enter, does your store:

  • Have strong sales results in food to go (evidence of contribution to store’s overall figures needed)
  • Have a working waste management plan
  • Have a marketing plan for its food to go offering at various times of the day
  • Have a broad offering that incorporates multiple categories
  • Innovate within the category

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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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).

Before you enter, has your store:

  • Seen sales growth over the past 18 months?
  • Seen investment to improve its offering?
  • Examples of key product categories/store strengths?
  • An engaged customer base?
  • High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)?
  • A point of difference to the competition?
  • A strong use of digital (social media, online presence)?
  • Lots of exciting additional services (home delivery etc)?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

Closed

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

Before you enter, has your store:

  • Seen sales growth over the past 18 months?
  • Seen investment to improve its offering?
  • Examples of key product categories/store strengths?
  • An engaged customer base?
  • High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)?
  • A point of difference to the competition?
  • A strong use of digital (social media, online presence)?
  • Lots of exciting additional services (home delivery etc)?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

Closed

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).

Before you enter, has your store:

  • Seen sales growth over the past 18 months?
  • Seen investment to improve its offering?
  • Examples of key product categories/store strengths?
  • An engaged customer base?
  • High store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)?
  • A point of difference to the competition?
  • A strong use of digital (social media, online presence)?
  • Lots of exciting additional services (home delivery etc)?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

Closed

This award is open to stores that have opened from scratch, or re-opened after a significant remodelling, during the period of 1 January 2022 and 31 May 2023. 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.

Before you enter:

  • Have sales have performed strongly against projections for the store since opening?
  • Have you introduced new innovations to your business?
  • Have you successfully marketed the changes to your customers?
  • Overcome competition in your area?
  • Can explain what learnings from previous sites were brought to this one?


If the answers are yes, enter now!

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With the explosion of the vape category, retailers are facing more pressure than ever to ensure that the products they’re selling are ending up in the right hands. Despite this added pressure, many retailers are acting responsibly and doing the right thing for their customers and communities. This award seeks to highlight the amazing work being done by these retailers.

Before you enter, do you have:

  • - Proof of clear practices to ensure responsible retailing within tobacco, vape, alcohol, gambling categories covering both age-related sales and the illicit trade?
  • Examples of collaboration with other parties in your area (local council, trading standards teams, community groups)?
  • Examples of staff training on responsible retailing?
  • Evidence of any innovative approaches or ideas to tackle underage sales?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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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.

Before you enter, do you, or does one of your team have:

  • Excellent customer service by going above and beyond the ‘sale’?
  • 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?
  • Experience of fundraising activities that they have created and delivered successfully?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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

Before you enter, have you:

  • Seen sales growth at your store?
  • Invested in the business?
  • Seen key product categories/store strengths improve?
  • Engaged positively with your customer base?
  • Got evidence of high store standards (appearance, cleanliness availability, POS, staffing)?
  • Got a store with a point of difference to the competition?
  • Used digital (social media, online presence) successfully?
  • Got some exciting additional offers (home delivery etc)?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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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.

Before you enter, have you:

  • Introduced sustainability initiatives between 1 January 2022 and 31 May 2023 and can evidence of results from these initiatives?
  • Successfully communicated to customers how sustainability has been improved within the business?
  • Invested in sustainability throughout the store (technology, training, range)
  • Worked with your supply chain to improve sustainability?

If the answers are yes, enter now!

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The two following awards are nominated from the above categories:

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!

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.

Research Based Categories

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.

Fuel alone isn’t a footfall driver to forecourts anymore. The UK forecourt convenience market grew 6% in 2020 to a value of £2.7bn, highlighting its position as a hotbed for innovation. This award goes to the forecourt convenience group that receives the highest shopper satisfaction ratings versus other forecourt convenience groups across a range of forecourt specific KPIs, including:

  1. Value for money
  2. Price
  3. Range of products
  4. Availability of promotions
  5. Speed of service
  6. Ease of shop
  7. Quality of produce
  8. Staff friendliness
  9. Store and forecourt cleanliness

Symbol stores are seen as a hotbed for innovation, with outstanding new concept stores across the country. In 2020, the total symbol market grew double digits at over 10% YOY - outpacing the rest of the convenience market. This award will be closely contested and hard to call but goes to the symbol fascia that scores the highest shopper satisfaction ratings versus other symbol groups across a range of measures, including:

  1. Value for money
  2. Price Range of products
  3. Availability of promotions
  4. Speed of service
  5. Ease of shop
  6. Quality of produce
  7. Staff friendliness
  8. Store cleanliness

Managed convenience refers to centrally managed, company owned estates. With different challenges and opportunities to the rest of the market, managed convenience retailers strive for consistency in store and staff standards across an entire estate that can cover large territories. This award goes to the convenience multiple group that scores the highest shopper satisfaction ratings versus other managed convenience multiples across a range of measures, including:

  1. Value for money
  2. Price Range of products
  3. Availability of promotions
  4. Speed of service
  5. Ease of shop
  6. Quality of produce
  7. Staff friendliness
  8. Store cleanliness

This is one of the biggest awards in the industry, to be voted the number one convenience store by UK shoppers is an achievement everyone will want to win. This award is always closely contested but remains a true reflection of the convenience group that is the shoppers’ favourite. The winner of this award receives the highest shopper satisfaction versus all other convenience fascia across a range of measures, including:

  1. Value for money
  2. Price Range of products
  3. Availability of promotions
  4. Speed of service
  5. Ease of shop
  6. Quality of produce
  7. Staff friendliness
  8. Store cleanliness

Why enter?

•  CELEBRATE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS – showcase your hard work and celebrate as a team or company

GAIN RECOGNITION – be acknowledged for your innovation, performance, and best practice. Winning an award or being named as a finalist immediately puts you on a par with some of the very best in the sector.

RAISE YOUR PROFILE THROUGH NETWORKING – network and exchange ideas with leaders and experts from the convenience retail industry on the night at our new location: Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

BUILD AWARENESS - Winning a category at The Convenience Awards is an opportunity to show off the great work you’re doing for both existing and new customers.

BOOST MORALE – entering the awards can help boost staff morale, motivation and create a sense of pride. It provides a platform for them to be acknowledged for their hard work and dedication.

• BENEFIT from coverage in market-leading media brands – Convenience Store, Lumina Intelligence and The Grocer