Convenience retailers see rise in top-up shopping missions

Convenience retailers are seeing a rise in ‘top-up’ shopping missions, as consumers increasingly replace large weekly grocery trips with smaller, frequent visits. Data from analyst Beyond Spend for the first quarter of 2026 suggests the ongoing cost-of-living crisis has contributed to this shift toward mission-led shopping.

Lumina Intelligence reports also indicate that top-up missions remain the dominant driver for convenience store visits. Alpesh Mistry, sales director at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I, noted that these trips are driven by both immediate consumption and at-home needs. For example, the Ribena brand has seen a combined retail sales value increase of over 8% year on year across its squash, carton, and ready-to-drink formats.

To capitalize on these trends, experts suggest independent retailers focus on product availability, particularly in chilled formats to capture impulse buys, and effective merchandising techniques such as brand blocking and double-facing to improve the customer experience.