Japanese Convenience Stores

https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006305740?fp=b4e7698b6e970f5df732f1adbce429f4


https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006315996

This situation also is happening now in South Korea. Actually it started about 2 years ago, when the new minimum wage laws went into affect.

At the time, many of the stores, restaurants and such, were not prepared for the new wage laws.

As such, while the law (s) were meant to give part-time workers somewhat of a living wages, the opposite actually happened, as small businesses and such began laying off workers, including brand name places too.

Some places have begun to move toward automation, ordering machines, for example in fast food places to reduce costs.

There were always a tension between the part-time workers and those who use them in their labor, but this situation made it even worse.

Like Japan, it seems many young workers don't want to work in convenience stores, or even restaurants etc.

While technology can be good, there is always a positive and negative side to it.

Some jobs will be changed, restructured, some will be eliminated, and some will be added as most economies are now headed into the 4th industrial revolution, where technology is involved in many things in society and the economy.

I think of a Japanese convenience store as a current lifestyle place in Japan now. Yes its changing and maybe customers don't see the need for 24 hour operations, but the idea that the Japanese convenience store is going away is not going to happen.

It might re-tool or become more innovative to fit the needs of society in Japan, but it still very much an important everyday stop for consumers in Japan.

There is no other convenience store model in the world compared to the Japanese convenience store model.

The Japanese convenience store model is going through changes now. Companies need to understand and embrace the innovation that is needed to meet the needs of customers in the future.

It has been said that Japan is slow to change. But once Japan decides to change it moves fast. The same will probably happen with Japanese convenience stores.

What I hope will not happened, although there are pilot experiments going on now in some Japanese convenience stores is complete automation of check-outs or no workers in the stores.

Personalized customer service, even at convenience stores in Japan, is important, because Japan has been and hopefully will continue to be customer service oriented society, as it has done very well in the past, and hopefully into the future, as Japan knows and realizes customer service is the heart of any successful business.



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