The recent spell of warmer weather has paid dividends for the c-store trade although there is less optimism among independents when it comes to expectations for the next three months. In this month's poll of 100 readers of The Grocer, 56% said current sales were better than this time last year, whereas last month, only 44% reported an upturn. Thirty one per cent of those questioned said their sales were much the same as this time last year, and 13% said they were worse. However, when it came to predicting the next three months, only 56% expected an upturn compared to 63% last month and 68% two months ago. The survey showed that 39% expected no change in the next quarter, while 5% believed sales would fall. On the question of profitability, 38% said their net margins were up on this time last year ­ one per cent higher than last month ­ 36% said profits were the same, compared with 27% last month, and 11% claimed they were down, as opposed to 27% last month. Fifteen per cent did not reply. Fewer retailers than last month said they would increase investment in their businesses, with 32% claiming they would spend more, 31% saying there would be no change and 16% saying investment would drop. There was no comment from the remaining 21%. An overwhelming 86% of those questioned believed their customers thought they were competitive on price, while 14% thought shoppers viewed them as expensive. Nobody said their customers thoght they were very expensive. When it comes to reasons for using a wholesaler, 65% said price was the main criteria, 11% said product range, 6% said stock level, 3% believed all three were equally important and 15% made no comment. When asked about the month's biggest brand promotions, Tennent's lager, Pepsi/7-Up/Ribena, Coca-Cola, Walkers crisps and Persil tablets were mentioned most often. {{GROCER CLUB }}