The government should provide more support for rural convenience stores as part of the levelling-up agenda, according to ACS.
The ACS 2022 Rural Shop Report launched today revealed that half of rural stores operate with no other retail or service businesses close by.
These rural stores act as a lifeline for customers by providing access to vital services including free to use cash machines (48%), local grocery delivery (26%) and Post Offices (22%).
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Findings from the report show that over the last year, rural convenience stores have achieved around £15.8 billion in sales and the average rural customer visits stores around 2.5 times per week.
The report found that if rural local shops were no longer around, customers would have to travel an average of 3.3 miles in order to access these services.
ACS chief executive, James Lowman emphasised the hard work of rural stores and are a lifeline for “thousands of communities”, adding that this is “despite rural shops facing significant additional challenges compared to their more urban counter parts,” he said.
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“Thousands of rural shops do not have adequate broadband or mobile coverage, and many are at the farthest tip of their supply chains struggling to get a choice of supply and full range of products their customers need.”
Lowman added that providing targeted support for rural shops and businesses must be integrated in the Government’s levelling-up agenda to ensure that the growing gap between rural and urban stores does not widen further.
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