ACS Research

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.

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.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has praised the work that local shops in Wales do in their communities as part of the launch of the 2024 Welsh Local Shop Report.

At the launch of the report today (Thursday 14th March) in the Senedd (the Welsh Parliament), ACS engaged with members of the Senedd on the role that convenience stores play in communities across Wales and emphasised the importance of local shops not just as community hubs, but also as local investors and job creators.

The Association of Convenience Stores has called on the Government to ensure that rural shops are included in its plans to level up the UK economy. Published today, the 2020 Rural Shop Report outlines the crucial role that rural shops play in people’s daily lives as job creators, service providers and social hubs.  

New research launched today (3^rd December) by the Association of Convenience Stores has revealed the important role that convenience stores play to both the economy and local communities in Wales.

The 2020 Welsh Local Shop Report revealed that 62% of local shops in Wales operate in rural locations, providing essential services to their local communities, including bill payment services (79%), cash machines (68%) and Post Offices (25%).