Convenience unpacked: five trends shaping the channel in 2026

New IGD report reveals channel forecasts and key challenges and opportunities ahead for convenience retailers

Set against a growth forecast projecting the market to reach £56.2 billion by 2030, convenience retailers face a period marked by both opportunities and headwinds.  In its latest report, IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution) identifies five key trends driving structural change and retailer responses in the channel in 2026.

The convenience channel is expected to see a CAGR of 2.7% over the next five years, lagging slightly behind the wider grocery market’s 3.0% CAGR. Declining tobacco sales will be the primary restraining factor in convenience, owing to the much greater relative scale of the category in the channel.

Five key trends steering UK convenience in 2026:

1. Retailers are facing financial stress: traditional categories are declining, leading to falling sales. Rising retail operating costs are accentuating this issue, creating an unsustainable challenge for some stores.
2. Symbol growth driven by B2B value: recruitment of symbol stores
   is key to growth for many stakeholders in the channel and groups that are offering better value are growing faster.
3. Competing with specialists in food-to-go: as retailers work to grow food-to-go sales, competing for share with specialists becomes inevitable, especially
   as they move into hotspots, such as travel hubs.
4. Quick commerce: aggregator alternatives: while partnering with the aggregators on quick commerce is effective, retailers lose transaction value and do not wholly control the customer interaction.
5. Increasing, but selective, focus on price: High-profile value and price-matching activity have heightened shopper perceptions that the convenience channel is expensive.

Assessing the impact of these factors, the IGD Convenience trends report provides actionable insights into navigating the shifting landscape for retailers and suppliers, helping them identify where the real opportunities and challenges lie.

Patrick Mitchell-Fox, Insight Partner at IGD, comments:

“The UK convenience channel is facing a future of mixed fortunes, with potential offset by a range of challenges. Retailers and suppliers will need to be aware of how these impact on a store-by-store and category-by-category basis.

“Secular trends in demographics and shopper behaviour will continue to create opportunities for ongoing growth in the UK convenience market. However, its structural over-dependence on the declining tobacco category will create headwinds that will limit growth overall.”

For more information on the trends shaping the future of convenience, visit a summary of the report here: https://www.igd.com/commercial-insight/retail-analysis/channels/convenience/reports/highlights-uk-convenience-trends-2026/72398. 

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