50 years on, Japan's convenience stores keep evolving to stay competitive

If the average spend is still not going up (we have huge inflation here in Japan) then times are indeed more dire than I feared. One wonders how much more rind they can remove before there is nothing but bone left.

It’s no worse than most places in the world today, and better than most.

Tough to compete with one every 300 meters.

They're getting better and better. When I first came to Japan, getting milk was hit and miss at a combini. The milk shelf was so often barren. Fresh fruit was absent until about 15 years ago.

I still miss my Canadian convenience stores with aspirin, ibuprofen, and other useful medicines always on sale, phone charging vouchers, and the large brewed coffee selection. Maybe one day, we'll see that in Japan as well.

Other chains are also ramping up efforts to stay competitive, such as launching frozen foods supervised by famous restaurants and offering meals cooked in-store

Down here they are connecting with local supermarkets and products produced locally are sold in each others stores!

Down here too, 7/11 has opened over 150 new stores, within about 3 years, with a goal of 250, in the prefecture ,within the next 5 years, I believe it is.

With Lawson and Family Mart, there has to be, just guessing here, at least 1,000 convenience stores here in Okinawa alone, with a registered population of a bit over 1.4 million people.

It's the tourists who are keeping them in business, with an estimated 10 million expected this fiscal year!

Convenis are the pride of Japan. Outstanding products and service. Everyone has their favourite conveni product - mine is the Lawson egg sandwich. As others have said, the freshness of the food has improved over the years. Great selection of booze too!

As long as the world leading service experience is maintained, I see no issue with every conveni in the near future being completely unmanned, with a self or auto checkout service. There is no doubt they are here to stay.

I mostly only use them for printing. Maybe the odd sandwich and coffee.

Many convenient stores open after taking away the greeneries, woods or rice paddies along roads, to end up closing after a few years of not working. Some places are taken back by dentists, massage chains, etc, but a lot just get abandoned and empty. This has a huge footprint as the land is never restored. I would like the chains to reflect on that, rather than only promoting some plastic reduction or whatever fits with an environmentally conscious mind.

@didou I agree !!

Overpriced plastic wrapped rubbish food ...hard pass.

The prices at all of the convenient stores are not convenient at a time of economic crises here in Japan. Everything is very expensive. I avoid them.

I've noticed many convenient stores come and go in my neighborhood and along my commute to work over the years. Typically its a smaller one shutting down, like a Lawson. Or its a 7/11 shutting down and then a new one goes up elsewhere in a busier area with more traffic. You can spot the old 7s too. That lower brick work and the large windows. Often they get turned into a hair salon or a used car lot. There must be a special science in determining when and where to build a new combini.

I knew the owner of a Seven & I. I was surprised how little they made for the work they put it. As always, location, location, location.

Hey, come on guys, gals and others. Seven & I has the best coffee in Japan! I was a huge fan. And Famichiki? Yum!

In 1987, convenience stores enabled customers to pay utility bills at the cash register utilizing bar code scanning and installed ATMs in 1999, allowing people to withdraw cash.

Funny the article does not mention the increasing number of foreigners being employed at these convenience stores.

And wage theft being used as a business innovation.

https://japantoday.com/category/business/update1-seven-eleven-failed-to-pay-wage-portions-to-store-workers-for-years

Wages are hitting about the bottom line for livability at these businesses and paying a fair wage is anathema to Japan Inc. so the next innovation will inevitably be automation.

I buy chocolate from these places.

A shrinking workforce, meanwhile, has forced some convenience store owners to work long hours, prompting franchise operators to start to introduce shorter opening hours to address the issue.

Shrinking workforce? You mean bad pay is making people hesitate, not once, not twice but thrice before they decided to apply for such a job.

There is nothing quite like an Italian sandwich. Or a salt beef sandwich. There are many great sandwiches the world over. There is nothing to beat an Italian coffee.

I agree with you. Combini in Japan are outstanding.

Yep. And they bit like a local ekimichi 駅道 on the street corner as regionally, some of the produce they sell makes the humble combini a microcosm of the best products the area has to offer, as well as hosting the most popular items from all over the country. My conbini in Musashino, Tokyo has Aoshima Shochu for example! Amongst other gems.

Very different to where I used live before I came to Japan, might I add. Lol.

Japanese convenience stores are pretty much the best in the world. I only wish they'd stop selling booze after a certain hour, and maybe not put the porn next to the ice cream.

When you get a Walmart,you evolved,most Walmart are 3 football field long

meeting demand from customers who wanted to buy groceries outside of traditional stores' opening times.

This is incorrect. Convenience stores don't sell "groceries", and if so, its only a recent thing at larger ones. They sell drinks, ready made food, snacks, and few other things, mostly to lure folks in to buy drinks, ready-made food, and snacks. Your repertoire would be very small if you cooked from scratch using only "groceries" from convenient stores.

I've been going to conbinis a lot recently, because my work has been really busy. This means I'm time poor and prone to snacking/comfort eating on the job. If you are not time poor, you should not use convenience stores. It's easy to eat much better for cheaper. Instead of celebrating how wonderful Japanese conbinis are as a point of national pride, perhaps we should regret that everyone is so busy, creating a massive niche for costly but sophisticated (and genuinely convenient) retail to service them. France's point of national pride is families spending an hour plus every night on "le diner", a short work week, and x days off a year. That's a more impressive than tasty frozen chicken deep fried in store.

wallace

Maybe the odd sandwich and coffee.

Those whipped cream sandwiches are pretty odd. ;-)

Japan convenience stores are the best.

My favorite thing has been the ability to print government documents. It saves a trip to city hall, and all the time and effort that entails.

I used to love getting the ready made karaage and Asahi Premium they sold at 7-eleven back when I first came here. They would be fresh out of the fryer by the time I came home and I always looked forward to them on Fridays but now they only sell the ones on the sticks and it hasn't been the same...

Convenis are the pride of Japan. Outstanding products and service. Everyone has their favourite conveni product - mine is the Lawson egg sandwich.

I don't get the excitement over the egg sandwiches....I like em...but they are just egg sandwiches. I've had people come from abroad and when I ask them what they have eaten or want to eat, the egg sandwich is usually 1 of the first things they say! We have egg sandwiches at home....they taste the same....eggy....I just don't get it!

Aside from selling the cancer-causing cigarettes and kiddie eye-level soft porn, floating boobies magazines...all good.

Aside from selling the cancer-causing cigarettes and kiddie eye-level soft porn, floating boobies magazines...all good.

You missed the diabetes causing chocolates and sugar filled pastries, the sweet alcoholic drinks, beer, and saturated fats fried foods, and a host of other "unhealthy" prodcuts.

And btw, MOST convenience stores have stopped selling porn related mags, and have placed others in plastic wrap. But even the one's that still have them, 99.9999% of the people dont blink an eye, as they arent prudes.

But unless the supermarkets are already closed I just can't stand paying conbini prices any more.

A grocery store sells milk tea for about 85 yen (tax included). I'm pretty sure they are not losing money.

Convenience stores sell the same product (milk tea) for about 150 yen (tax included); sometimes a little less. I'm pretty sure they're not losing money either. In fact, their profit is at least 65 yen over what the grocery stores sell it for.

Also some convenience stores have a huge economic clout over the producers. The convenience stores can demand and get lower wholesale prices than many grocery stores.

In trying economic times such as these, the smart shopper bypasses the convenience store for the grocery store.

Department Stores almost disappeared in Japan after the Bubble.

We will soon witness how Convenience Stores around us will close all together.

Japan will end up with normal supermarkets and normal stores like the west.

7eleven sells drinks for 150 yen that you can get from somewhere like Welcia for 100 yen. Stores were literally 2 min walk apart.

Have you ever been to a "Lawson Store 100"?

We don't have many of them in the countryside, and as I said, its a recent thing. We don't have them in the countryside because people have cars to go to the supermarket to buy their groceries. Lawson 100 etc. is mostly for urbanites living in what have become food deserts, because the small grocery stores that would have existed, in shotengai and the like, have been wiped out.

The story says "The industry saw rapid expansion, meeting demand from customers who wanted to buy groceries outside of traditional stores' opening times."

This is clearly incorrect. The convenience store industry only switched to selling groceries recently, after hitting saturation. The "rapid expansion" was from selling drinks, ready to eat food, and snacks.

I lived in a Japan before convenience stores and it was pretty inconvenient unless you could get to Tanaka or Hanako Shoten (mom-pop grocery stores) before they closed which was usually by 8 or 9.

J convenience stores are pretty top notch even compared to their American counterparts. The food sold here is hell of a lot healthier too.

So as someone who understands markets, I'd say definitely their best days are yesterdays.

More competition, seriously busy people with high opportunity cost prefer delivery to home/office, like me, I'll gladly pay extra for times savings, same with groceries, everything delivered. That's right Amazon too, we'll spend as an investment with partners.

Demographics lousy in Japan, aging people eat less, tend to be careful and budget, that's not convenience stores. Sure, they're better than elsewhere, but it's still under more pressure in shrinking market - not good!

There is nothing quite like an Italian sandwich. Or a salt beef sandwich. There are many great sandwiches the world over. There is nothing to beat an Italian coffee.

If someone says 'there is nothing...", absolutely head for the exits ASAP, you're in the danger dumb zone!

7/11 has the worse obento and choice of fast foods. Not only that they are extremely greedy with the price hikes in the name of Ukraine

Seriously cheaper to eat at a family restaurant than eating a full meal at 7/11 or any convenience corner shop

7 am to 11 pm is fine with most customers, or 6 am, to 12 midnight at max.

We have a Family Mart one minute walk from our place, one minute, can you believe it? It’s sooo handy at times. Mind you, I don’t buy so much in there, it’s when we unexpectedly run out of things I pop down, usually for milk. Sometimes my partner fancies something sweet and I’ll pop down and buy her and eclair or maybe a tub of Ice cream, bless her. What are we like, lol

What are we like

A bit strange IMHO. All those words saying nothing.

They are the best. I will never walk inside a CS in the US. Not worthy.

Speed

J convenience stores are pretty top notch even compared to their American counterparts. The food sold here is hell of a lot healthier too.

Japan's conbinis put US convenience stores to shame. There is no comparison. Night and day. Black and white. It's hard to believe that US and Japan 7-11 is the same company.

lunatic

Department Stores almost disappeared in Japan after the Bubble.

There are two big fancy depato, Hankyu and Matsuzakaya, next to my local JR station, along with a big discount Heiwado depato. And nearby, there is a large Aeon depato and supa.

So, I wonder what was it like before they "disappeared"?

We will soon witness how Convenience Stores around us will close all together.

Nah. A shiny new Lawson just opened not far from me. And, the Lawson, Famima, and four 7-11's right in my immediate area all seem to be doing well.

Japan will end up with normal supermarkets and normal stores like the west.

They already have plenty of Western style supermarkets - Aeon, Kohyo, MaxValu, Mariyasu, FriendMart, Oasis, Mandai, Konomiya, Ikari, Kansai Supa, and more. And, that's just in Kansai. I'm sure there are other major supa chains in other regions.

I went out yesterday to do some business and needed up at a place called Kandai Mai. It was rather late and I was sooo peckish. Everywhere was packed and there were no combinis except for a Daily Yamazaki. I perused the foods near the counter and proceeded to choose spicy chicken fillet, or words to that affect.

went outside to try this culinary delight and my god it was a shock. I had a mouthful of grease that ran down my chin, can you believe it. All I could taste in my mouth was grease and salt, it was vile.

Never again, I hope the stores like Family Mart and Lawson are better than that, they do seem rather popular don’t they. Well, it’s put me off that kind of thing for life.

I am unimpressed with the convenience stores here. There is no variety.

After my dreadful Daily Yamazaki incident I had a rather better one yesterday at Family Mart. I went to Sannomiya for some business and at the Hankyu station to return home I felt peckish so I popped into the combini. I avoided fried food of course and decided to purchase a sandwich, prawn and broccoli it stated in the label. In fact it also contained egg, I believe the price was 320 Yen after tax. It wasn’t bad, nice and fresh and I thought better than I had expected. However it didn’t fill up my belly for long and two hours later I needed a big plate of curry, you know me and my curries, what am I like, lol

Today I visited Kyoto, the weather was ghastly, pouring with rain all the time, damn it. I decided to try more cuisine from a combini, after careful consideration I deceived to go to a 7/11. I noticed they had curry pan which I believe was 160 yen so I chose one of those, I also purchased a can of Boss coffee. I asked the young lady to pop it into the microwave, I’m nit keen on luckiest, food you see.

My goodness, it was not bad at all crunchy outside with a spicy curry filling and the filling was quite generous. I will award it 7.2 out of 10 and give it the FFS seal of approval.

Today I was out locally and damn and blast I needed to make a cash withdrawal as I needed to purchase something for a friend in Austria. Well, I went to 7/11 after paying the bloody charge for withdrawal which made me cross I decided to purchase something to eat. I decided upon a meat and potato croquette which was 100Yen. It wasn’t bad I guess especially for the price, I wouldn’t mind a couple with some baked beans ( Heinz) and some HP sauce for a light meal. I also spotted a very strange sandwhich, cod roe and potato of all things. Well, I am adventurous but I decided not to try that you see, the price was 270 Yen and maybe I wouldn’t enjoy it, what am I like eh.