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Japan's beleaguered shoppers are a worry for convenience stores and the economy
Convenience chains are adding cheaper own-brand items and nonfood revenue as inflation and weak wage growth push shoppers toward discount retailers.
- Customer numbers at Japanese convenience stores have fallen for 15 consecutive months, according to the Japan Franchise Association, with September traffic dropping 3.8% from a year earlier, the steepest decline since the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Rising living costs are pushing consumers like Tokyo resident Kana Sekiya to abandon convenience stores for discount supermarkets, as she now drives more than 30 minutes on weekends to buy groceries in bulk.
- To regain price-sensitive shoppers, Seven & i launched its 'Seven The Price' own-brand range, priced around 20% below branded alternatives, while FamilyMart installed crane games in about 5,000 stores.
- Convenience stores face mounting pressure from aggressive mini-supermarkets, as Trial Holdings' Seiyu chain recorded a 6.9% year-on-year increase in customer numbers, while Aeon expanded its 'My Basket' chain and Trial opened small-format stores in Tokyo.
- Mizuho Research Institute analyst Ryohei Ikeda warned that increased household belt-tightening could weigh on Japan's broader economy, with private consumption accounting for about half of GDP. The Bank of Japan could signal a rate hike as soon as December.
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Japan's beleaguered shoppers are a worry for convenience stores and the economy
Kana Sekiya, 43, used to shop near a train station in Tokyo on her way back home from work. Now she drives more than 30 minutes on weekends to a discount supermarket to buy groceries in bulk — one of a growing number of consumers shifting their shopping habits as prices rise.
·London, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources7
Leaning Left0Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
C 67%
R 33%
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