New data from TWC Group's recently launched Channel Track service puts Symbol & Independent (S&I) stores' share of the UK grocery market at 12% – a significantly higher figure than some estimates commonly referenced across the industry. The finding has potentially important implications for suppliers, with market size and channel share data frequently used to determine investment, resource allocation and route-to-market priorities.
How Channel Track works
Channel Track has been developed using debit and credit card spending data representing 10.2 million UK adults, enabling TWC Group to capture the value of the whole transaction or basket, rather than relying solely on products subsequently recorded as being taken home. The service combines card spending data with TWC Group's consumer research to provide a new view of consumer expenditure across both retail and foodservice/out-of-home channels.
Why the sector is undercounted
Jayne Webb, insights director at TWC Group and the driving force behind the development of Channel Track, said: “Having worked within a number of supplier organisations, I know just how influential market share data can be. It feeds directly into decisions about where businesses invest their money, people and resources.
“One of the challenges with understanding the symbol and independent sector is that the full picture can sit across a number of different data sources. Take-home purchasing, immediate consumption and out-of-home spend can all be captured in different ways and in different places.
“Channel Track gives us another way of looking at the market by capturing the value of the whole transaction at the point the consumer spends their money. Giving a clear and consistent view of the scale of the channel and the opportunities within it.”
18 months in the making
Tom Fender, development director at TWC Group, said: “Jayne was the brains behind Channel Track. Her ambition was straightforward but challenging: To create robust data for the route-to-market sector that allows businesses to quantify the true size of channels and, crucially, identify where the growth opportunities lie.
“It has taken around 18 months to build because of the sheer complexity of the data. But the result gives wholesalers, retailers, foodservice operators and suppliers a new way of understanding where consumers are actually spending their money.
“The 12% share for symbol and independent stores is a great example of why this matters. If you underestimate the size of a channel, you risk underestimating the size of the opportunity.”
Channel Track was launched by TWC Group in September 2026 and provides insight across approximately 225,000 UK retail, foodservice and hospitality outlets, helping businesses understand channel performance, consumer transactions, shopper demographics and growth opportunities. Retailers and wholesalers are encouraged to email hello@twcgroup.net for a personalised demo of Channel Track or visit www.twcgroup.net/channel-track for more information.
