The convenience store sector has grown by 4.1% during 2022 with more than a third (37%) failing to check IDs correctly when selling age-restricted products.
UK convenience stores have generated revenues of over £47 billion over the last 12 months, with an estimated 31,763 convenience stores across the UK. This number has increased by 1.7% in the last year alone, with both symbol groups and supermarket chains focusing on the local shopping experience.
With the exception of the pandemic (2020 to 2021), the number of convenience stores operating within the UK has increased every year since 2012 – and the total size of the convenience sector is now 37% larger than it was ten years ago.
However, data taken from the latest research by digital identity specialists ID Crypt Global also revealed that around 37% of businesses are failing on ID checks, with the growth of the sector suggesting more minors have been able to purchase items such as tobacco and alcohol illegally.
Based on the current number of UK convenience stores, the digital specialists predict that around 11,752 businesses are not currently operating as they should when it comes to their legal obligation to prohibit the sale of items such as tobacco and alcohol to minors.
“It’s great to see that despite the dominance of the UK’s big supermarket chains, the smaller convenience store still holds a place in society and the sector has been growing consistently over the last decade,” CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, Lauren Wilson-Smith, said.
She added: “Of course, the downside to this often independent outlet can be the resource and budget available, which can prevent them from implementing developing technologies to better serve and protect the consumer.
“For example, we’ve seen the sophisticated advances that many big brands have now made within their checkout infrastructure, with self-serve checkouts that help streamline the process while still ensuring that any age prohibited products are flagged.”
Wilson-Smith continues saying that it is an area of concern for smaller convenience stores “with well over a third failing ID check tests altogether,” she said.
“This is largely down to human error, with many minors knowing that a smaller store with fewer staff and technology resources is an easier target to the often more rigid approach taken by big supermarket brands.”
