Shanghai convenience stores soldier through pandemic to supply city

Some convenience stores in Shanghai have reopened for in-person service in line with epidemic prevention requirements to supply the city and make daily necessities more accessible to locked-down residents.

On Wednesday morning, when China Daily arrived at a Family Mart on Fuquan Road in the metropolis's Changning district, some customers were buying food and basic supplies in the convenience store after being asked to provide negative nucleic acid test results and a body temperature check.

Huo Shengyun, the store's manager, said business both online and offline has not stopped since the area west of the Huangpu River was locked down to curb the spread of the Omicron variant early this month.

"At the beginning of the lockdown, products were mainly ordered online by residents around our store and then sent to their communities," she said. "Those who visited our store to buy goods were mainly staff members for epidemic prevention."

"After the city began implementing three-zone epidemic control management last week, a few residents from precautionary zones were allowed to leave their compounds, so they also came to us to buy daily necessities for themselves and their neighbors," she said.

She added every customer must show a negative nucleic acid test result before entrance, and the store's employees have also been asked to prevent gatherings by limiting customer flow.

"We've kept a stable supply for customers, and water, bread and bento are most popular," she said. "Additionally, we have feminine products for women around the area."

Data from the company showed there are about 1,500 Family Mart stores across Shanghai, of which about 200 have stayed open to ensure the supply of goods.

As of Wednesday, the number of stores in operation has reached 432 citywide.

Alldays, another convenience store on Fuquan Road, has also been open to ensure residents have daily necessities.

Zhang Jie, a resident in the Fuxin community opposite the Alldays, praised the store, saying "its employees informed us what products they have through a WeChat group, which helped us a lot during the epidemic period."

He added the supply of daily necessities in the past few days has been sufficient, adding he hopes the city can go back to normal as soon as possible.