ACS Research

ACS is calling on all retailers to complete its 2026 Employment Survey.

The survey invites you to share your views on employment policy and practices, including the current and future National Living Wage rates, changes to Employer NICs, statutory sick pay, and more.

Findings from the survey will help to inform ACS' submission to the Low Pay Commission as well as our employment policy work to ensure that local shops across the UK are able to receive proper support with all aspects of employment.

Record investment by local shops in crime prevention and detection measures has led to a year-on-year fall in the number of shop theft incidents recorded in the convenience sector.

The Association of Convenience Stores' annual Crime Report, released today, shows that over the last year there have been 5.8 million incidents of shop theft recorded by retailers, along with just over 950,000 incidents of verbal abuse. This compares to 6.2 million incidents of theft and 1.2 million incidents of verbal abuse in the 2025 ACS Crime Report.

ACS has launched our 2026 Colleague Survey, aiming to highlight the views of people working in the UK convenience sector.

The Colleague Survey asks frontline convenience colleagues to share their experiences working within the sector, covering travelling to work, employment contracts, flexible work opportunities, use of benefits, and more. The data collected goes towards our employment policy campaigning work on behalf of local shops, as well as providing important insight into colleagues for our major research projects like the Local Shop Report.

We have started our fieldwork for the 2025 Local Shop Report, which will be launched at our Heart of the Community Conference and Reception on the 2nd September.

The Local Shop Report is our biggest piece of research at ACS, and provides comprehensive insight into the convenience sector, predominantly focusing on the people that run and work in local shops, the products and services we offer, and the customers and communities that we serve.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has officially launched its 2025 Welsh Local Shop Report, celebrating the key contributions that Welsh convenience stores make to their communities.

The report acts as its own standalone branch of the ACS Local Shop Report, focusing on the positive impacts that Welsh convenience stores have on their local communities, often providing key services that have declined or disappeared from those areas.