Asda Answers C-Stores’ Move into Groceries With Small-Format ‘Express’ Expansion

As convenience stores try to swipe grocery sales, supermarkets are responding with new small-format locations.

The latest example of this brewing turf war has emerged in Europe, where industry giant Asda is taking on these neighborhood competitors on their turf.

This, as the UK-based supermarket chain announced this week that it is expanding its “Express” convenience store concept with plans to open 300 new locations by the end of 2026, with a focus on residential areas where the grocer does not have a presence.

The small new stores will offer basic essentials, a limited selection of prepared foods as well as some alcoholic beverage options, the company said.

“A key part of our growth strategy is to provide customers with more opportunities to shop at Asda closer to where they live or work,” Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Asda, said in a statement. “With more than three quarters of the UK population visiting a convenience store in the last 12 months, the potential for growth in this market is significant. Our ambition is to become the convenience destination of choice.”

News of the supermarket’s convenience expansion comes as convenience stores have been growing their grocery sales, threatening supermarkets’ share in the category. For instance, Casey’s General Stores, the United States’ third-largest convenience retailer, shared in a presentation for analysts Wednesday (Dec. 7) discussing the its most recent earnings report, that grocery sales were up 7% year over year (and 14% relative to two years prior) and that the company has been expanding its grocery selection in its digital platforms.

Similarly, multinational convenience giant Couche-Tard last month, in discussing its second-quarter earnings, spoke to strength in its food and grocery categories.

Meanwhile, as grocers try to grow their online delivery audience, convenience giant 7-Eleven has been beating them to the punch, building out its 7NOW delivery platform, offering on-demand delivery of a range of grocery staples, including bread, eggs, milk and pantry basics. The company intends to build out this offering.

Parent company Seven & I shared in a Q&A in October that, noting the increased demand for these options, the company is prioritizing these channels. Moreover, in a presentation with analysts at the same time, the company stated that it is expanding its grocery business in Japan. As for its international c-store business, the company’s growth plan is “centered on [its] grocery business strategy.”

Consequently, it makes sense that grocers would retaliate with their own moves to gain a share of the c-store occasion.

Indeed, Asda is not the first retailer to take aim at both the grocery and convenience occasions. eCommerce giant Amazon, for one, has been doing so with its Go c-store brand and its Fresh and Whole Foods Market grocery chains, offering grab-and-go options at the former and a more comprehensive selection of food and beverages at the latter.

Meanwhile, other grocers have been looking to grow their share of instant needs sales, which previously may have gone to c-stores, with on-demand delivery partnerships. Take, for instance, the slew of supermarket chains partnering with leading aggregators such as Instacart and DoorDash on 30-minute delivery, such as grocery giant Kroger working with the former and its erstwhile competitor, soon-to-be subsidiary (barring federal intervention), Albertsons collaborating with the latter.