Convenience stores record growth, more penetration into lower-tier cities

Most convenience stores in cities this year have achieved growths and more penetration into fourth- and fifth-tier cities and county-level markets, according to an industry survey.

As per the "China Convenience Store Index", released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, about 64.1 percent of the surveyed cities have seen positive growth in the number of convenience stores in 2023. The number of cities with reduced store numbers accounted for 35.9 percent.

The index includes the saturation of convenience stores in each city, the growth rate of the total number of stores, the proportion of 24-hour convenience stores, and the business environment.

Based on the calculation from the index, the city of Xiamen of Fujian province, Taiyuan of Shanxi province, Dongguan of Guangdong province, Changsha of Hunan province, and Guangzhou of Guangdong province ranked top five in the development of convenience stores in terms of the, said the survey.

The growth rate of convenience stores in Hefei, Anhui province, reached 11.76 percent, the highest among all cities, followed by Guiyang, Guizhou province, and Kunming, Yunnan province. In first- and second-tier cities or lower-tier cities, rent and labor costs remain the biggest challenges faced by convenience stores, according to the survey.