Symbol group Budgens was voted The Shoppers’ Favourite Forecourt Retailer at the HIM Awards 2019. 

The celebratory night at East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf. saw 16 awards presented in front of a sell-out audience of over 400 senior, industry leading suppliers, retailers and wholesalers. 

BP won The Shoppers’ Favourite Food To Go Convenience Retailer, and Shell (above) won The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer For Soft Drinks.

Symbol group Premier received the most plaudits, being crowned The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer for 2019; in addition to The Shoppers’ Favourite Small Format Retailer and The Shoppers’ Favourite Symbol Group

The award winners are decided using HIM research, with its annual Convenience Tracking Programme, consisting of over 20,000 shopper interviews used for the shopper awards and 1,000s of retailer interviews used to determine the winners of the retailer- focused awards. This is the UK’s largest shopper survey and the only awards that are decided for by those that matter most – shoppers!

The main award for the evening, sponsored by Juul Labs, was The Shoppers’ Favourite Convenience Retailer for 2019. This award is based on shopper ratings across all aspects of the store, including availability, ease of shop, range of products and staff friendliness.

The research from HIM showed that Premier have scored consistently highly on the core ratings that are very important to shoppers. These include, 9.57 out of 10 for staff friendliness and helpfulness, 9.37 out of 10 for speed of service and 9.11 for product availability.

Val Kirillovs, Research & Insights director at HIM said: “With over 20,000 face-to-face shopper interviews conducted, there is no doubt that this recognises the very best from the thriving UK convenience sector. Premier have scored consistently high across the board and thoroughly deserve to win this award for the second year running.”

“Differentiation is often highlighted as key to growing within convenience, however you cannot overlook the basics. Our research shows that Premier scored particularly well and higher than their competitors for range, value for money and availability. This highlights the importance of the core fundamentals of the convenience channel.”

Martyn Parkinson, brand director for Premier, said:  “This is a fantastic achievement and is testament to the hard work and dedication of our Premier retailers and I’d like to say a big thank you to them.  These awards are particularly special as they are voted for by shoppers and are a true measure of Premier retailer’s commitment to serving their communities every day.  I am delighted to have won three awards which shows the value that shoppers hold for Premier stores nationwide. With our 25th Birthday celebrations just starting, our new TV advert and our plans to give £25,000 back to communities nationally, I am confident we will be able to build on this success and drive more footfall, sales and profits for our retailers.”

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