Japan Convenience Store Sales:

 https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210421/p2g/00m/0bu/017000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Convenience store sales in Japan rose by 1.9 percent in March from a year earlier for the first increase in 13 months, lifted by demand for food items as people continued to stay or work at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, an industry body said Tuesday.

Same-store sales of seven major convenience store operators totaled 861.7 billion yen ($7.9 billion), supported by solid demand for prepared food, frozen food, dessert and alcoholic beverages, according to the Japan Franchise Association.

Ideas:

A year earlier maybe many people were a little afraid to even go to convenience stores as the pandemic was just beginning.

But at the same time, the decrease last year was related to workers who beginning to work from home and weren't going to the convenience stores near their workplaces.

And now as people continue to work from home the convenience store is an quick and easy place to pick up some to eat at home instead of heading to a grocery store/supermarket and especially if it in a crowded place like Sogo department store at Yokohama station.

Article:

Despite the number of shoppers declining 3.5 percent to 1.3 billion for the 13th consecutive month of fall, the average spending per person rose 5.6 percent to 684.20 yen.

Average spending grew for the 18 straight month as customers continued to buy frozen meals in bulk while alcohol sales increased with more people drinking at home, the association said.

Ideas:

The decline in the number of shoppers can be attributed to workers who are going to the convenience stores near their work places as they are now working from home.

And the average spending increase can also be attributed to the idea that workers are most likely buying more from the convenience stores that are near to where they live.

And they are probably not visiting regular supermarkets as much because of the potential for supermarkets to be too crowded and people want to remain safe.

Article:

Customer visits fell especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where a second state of emergency was issued in January and extended to March 21 beyond the original deadline in early February.

The number of convenience stores including newly opened outlets totaled 55,828, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier, the association said.

Ideas:

The decline in customer visits again might be workers were/are not visiting the convenience stores near they work, as they are now working from home.

Most likely to open a convenience store might fall under the idea easy to enter the market and easy to exit the market as its a characteristic of a competitive market.

And at the same time a convenience store business or franchise might be something that some people might feel they need to do in order to stay working.

Especially if they were, for instances, in the services or even the tourism industry and they had to close their business.

Or even if some was forced to retire but the don't want to stop working or can't afford to stop working.

Have a nice day and be safe!