The UK convenience market experienced strong momentum in Q2 2025, “with soaring summer temperatures, record levels of delivery for managed outlets and the growing importance of price-marked packs all shaping shopper behaviour”.

Data from Lumina Intelligence’s Convenience Tracking Programme shows the unusually warm weather during the quarter “fuelled a surge in refreshment and entertaining missions”.

The research covers 50,000 online surveys a year across a nationally representative sample of shoppers, covering the total convenience market including symbols, independents and managed convenience stores.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

The new figures suggested “shoppers increasingly turned to soft drinks and barbecue staples, such as sausages, to satisfy their immediate needs and host friends and family”.

“This seasonal uplift in social occasions reinforced the importance of convenience stores as a quick and reliable solution for last-minute gatherings, highlighting their role not only in top-up shopping but also in meeting lifestyle-driven demand,” said a Lumina Intelligence statement.

“The delivery for managed outlets hit a new record, accounting for 8.5% of occasions in managed convenience outlets. Planned top-ups remained a key driver of this growth, particularly among affluent young families who sought reliable access to products without compromising on convenience.”

The statement said another defining feature of the quarter was the continued rise of price-marked packs (PMPs), which gained further traction across both forecourts and managed outlets.

“Soft drinks in particular benefitted from shoppers’ preference for clear value cues, while demographic analysis showed shifts in living arrangements and family composition, with households with children increasing their share of shopping occasions,” said the statement

Lumina Intelligence provides insight for the grocery, retail and hospitality sectors. Andy Crossan, insight lead at the firm, said the data shows convenience “remains central to UK shoppers’ daily lives, particularly during the summer months”.

“The growth in delivery, combined with the strength of PMPs and the influence of family-driven missions, shows how value, availability and practicality are driving decision-making in 2025.

“Retailers and suppliers who respond to these needs will be best placed to capture growth in the months ahead.”