News

ACS has written to all MPs today (23^rd March), detailing the crucial role that local shops are playing in their constituencies in response to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.

In the letter, ACS outlines the extraordinary effort being undertaken by retailers and their colleagues across Britain’s 46,000 local shops who are going the extra mile to ensure that local customers can still have access to essential goods and services.

The country has now been coping with the Coronavirus outbreak for several weeks, and as restrictions on our lives have grown, so has the pressure on local shops. We want to explain what we are doing, and what the public can do to support our colleagues in stores.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has strongly welcomed clarification from Government that convenience store colleagues will be included in the definition of key worker.

From Friday afternoon, schools will close and remain closed until further notice for all except children of key workers and vulnerable children, as part of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.

ACS has called on the Government to ensure that the UK’s 405,000 convenience store colleagues are provided the key worker status so that they can carry on providing a lifeline to local communities.

From Friday afternoon, schools will close and remain closed until further notice for all except children of key workers and vulnerable children, as part of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.

I doubt many retailers are going to have time to read a blog from me today, but I wanted to thank the tens of thousands of retailers and the hundreds of thousands of colleagues in local shops who are doing such an amazing job for their communities.

This episode has again brought home the value local shops bring to their communities, and even though I know and expect this, I have been blown away and humbled by all the examples of retailers stepping up for elderly and vulnerable customers in particular.

ACS has launched new guidance for retailers in the convenience sector who are looking to provide home delivery for customers.

More convenience retailers are looking at home delivery as an option to reach local customers that are self-isolating or otherwise unable to travel to their local shop. This new guidance details what retailers should consider when starting a home delivery service.

The guidance covers the following areas:

The Government has announced an additional £330bn package of support for businesses in its second daily press conference on the continuing situation on coronavirus.

Measures announced by the Chancellor today include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has written to the Government calling for the introduction of measures to support local shops handle the impact of coronavirus.

ACS outlined key asks of the Government to help local shops mitigate the impact of the coronavirus, which are:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the introduction of a Bill on tougher sentences for those who assault retail workers, led by Alex Norris MP.  

The Bill seeks to make offences against retail workers aggravated, which would increase the options for more serious sentences for those convicted.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has taken the decision to postpone its annual Summit conference to 8th September this year, alongside the National Convenience Show at the NEC Birmingham, in response to the escalating situation around coronavirus (Covid-19).

The Government has confirmed today (March 12^th) that it is moving from the contain phase to the delay phase of the action plan in response to the virus outbreak.