Convenience stores are a retail form that emerged in China after reform and opening up began in the late 1970s. They are usually located within residential communities, apartment compounds or densely populated areas and, as in other countries, provide quick access to snacks, drinks and daily necessities.
When making inspection tours, President Xi Jinping often visits convenience stores to look at the types of goods, prices, production dates and sales figures. He has visited community supermarkets, rural groceries and supermarkets in expressway service areas. Behind his interest in convenience stores is his care for people’s wellbeing as the array of commodities reflect the conditions of China’s supply and logistics chains.
Convenience stores aim to carefully tailor their product selection to best meet the needs of local customers using the small space available. For this reason, examining the items on offer provides a good insight into what a community needs and uses in their daily lives.
The number of convenience stores and other mini supermarkets in China has now reached about 7 million, and their combined sales volume in 2023 exceeded 3 trillion yuan ($420 billion).
Convenience stores are also a window into China’s opening up to the outside world. According to the 2023 top 100 list of China’s convenience stores released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, foreign-invested convenience stores such as Lawson, 7-Eleven and FamilyMart are well established in China and have formed healthy competition with domestic Chinese brands. Unlike foreign-invested large supermarkets such as Carrefour and Walmart, these convenience stores exist in large numbers and broad geographical distribution, and they can be found in large, medium-sized and small cities.
The Chinese Government encourages the development of convenience stores and community supermarkets, and has introduced a series of policies, such as a guideline on accelerating the development of brand chain convenience stores. These policies provide equal treatment to domestic and foreign-invested stores. With the development of the Chinese economy and the acceleration of life’s pace, consumers’ demand for convenience increases, leading to the increased popularity of convenience stores.
Convenience stores have the potential not only to increase economic vitality, but also to provide a large number of job opportunities. Apart from the millions of people they directly employ, they also create employment through their demand for logistics and supply chains. Many provide additional services, such as receiving express deliveries, which enhances the cohesion of the communities in which they exist. Their presence has increased market competition and prompted large supermarkets and other retailers to improve the quality of their services and the diversity of goods. For example, Walmart and some other large supermarkets have established their own convenience store chains to better serve the needs of consumers.
The development of the Internet has made the convenience of China’s convenience stores more prominent. Many have started to adopt online-to-offline models, such as selling goods through e-commerce platforms or on social media. Some also provide delivery services for online orders, which often take only a few minutes from door to door. This is also an advantage that many large supermarkets do not have. The development of the Internet and big data has also promoted the establishment of self-service or checkout-free supermarkets, where there are no salespersons and customers need only take the goods and leave. These supermarkets have developed rapidly in many cities in recent years and have become a new favorite of young people.
These stores are favored by consumers not only because of their convenience, but also increasingly due to the application of technology which helps them improve their service quality and operational efficiency, better adapt to market changes and better meet consumer needs. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
