“While shopping from convenience stores is almost universal among urban consumers, there is an increasing need for chains to adapt their products, services and stores to suit the individual needs of different customers and communities. As competition heats up in developed cities, and expands into new ones, developing business models to suit local needs will become increasingly important.

Part of the wider product and service offering is the growing role for convenience stores in acting as online-to-offline retail delivery points. This can help stores to provide more products and services, but also create a new way for convenience stores to engage with their consumers, including via loyalty schemes and social media.

Providing more in-store catering is a continuing trend, but consumers are also demanding bigger, cleaner and brighter stores, with more variety of products, friendlier staff and more competitive pricing, including private label. Convenience stores can no longer rely on convenience alone, and must also compete across a wider spectrum of brand offerings.”

– Matthew Crabbe, Director of Research, Asia-Pacific

In this report, Mintel answers the key questions:

Why are convenience stores continuing to see faster outlet and sales growth than any other retail sector?

How are convenience stores generally increasing in size, selling a wider variety of products and providing consumers with more services than before?

Which retail chains are innovating and growing fastest in the sector?

How are convenience stores increasingly integrating into the online-to-offline trend in modern grocery retail in China?

What do consumers like about convenience stores, and which products and services do they buy the most often?

What do consumers dislike about convenience stores, and therefore what can they do to become more competitive?

What are consumers’ attitudes towards convenience stores, and their shopping habits and preferences?