Britvic’s latest Soft Drinks Review found that more shoppers are turning to convenience stores for take-home soft drink purchases as the category demonstrates strong signs of growth.

The report indicates that changes to consumer shopping habits and commercial climates are presenting new opportunities for convenience retailers. It found that nearly two thirds of customers now use convenience stores, with most of those shoppers being young adults and families.

It shows that soft drinks are now the most bought impulse category in convenience, present in just over one in four baskets.

The stimulant energy segment delivered growth worth £181.5m last year. It was the second fastest growing sub-sector at 23.7% behind sport drinks which grew at 64.6%, taking fifth place in the list of best-selling soft drink subcategories in convenience.

Stimulant energy drinks remain number one in the category. Sugar-free energy drinks have also demonstrated a rise in popularity, the report found that effective merchandising and advertising on social media is a keyway to engage with shoppers of this segment.

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While soft drinks are identified as the most bought impulse category in the channel, the report also identifies that stores could be doing more to tap into ‘meal for tonight’ occasions.  

The Soft Drinks Review also pointed out that forecourt are one of the key driving forces behind the growth of the convenience channel, with total sales – including all goods and fuel – through forecourts growing by 2.8% to £4.6bn in 2023.

Britvic says that more consumers are seeing forecourt sites as more viable options for their shops, such as for top-up missions or for buying meals for later on in the day, presenting a major opportunity for forecourt operators to capitalise on.

Ben Parker, retail commercial director at Britvic, said: “There’s no denying the important role soft drinks are playing in the convenience sector. But it’s crucial that retailers have a solid understanding of the fundamental reasons why people are buying soft drinks. Only then will we together be able to fully tap into the opportunities on offer through soft drinks and reap the rewards.”

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