Japan
“In Japan, convenience retail is about modernising and new technology,” says Shushmul Maheshwari, chief executive of RNCOS, a global retail analyst company. “The US and Europe are good at this, but Japan is putting in notable effort.”
Perhaps it’s unsurprising, then, that Mr Maheshwari sees a difference in how these markets are succeeding. “In the developed world – markets like the US and the UK – there is not much growth, but in Asian markets such as Japan, China, the Philippines and South Korea there is more development. Store numbers are increasing, for example.”
What makes Japan a top market for this analyst, however, is the way its stores use technology. While UK retailers are encouraged to use EPoS and other systems to ensure stock is always available, in Japan they go much further.
Retailers invest much time in data analysis, identifying which products customers buy at what time of day, for example. They use data analysis to address long queues and to make sure that the right products are in the right places, based on purchasing habits, Mr Maheshwari explains.
Key products
Japan’s convenience store offerings have enough of a cult following to attract an entire article in Condé Nast Traveller’s The Daily Traveller blog.
Chief among these – and something that will come as no surprise to UK retailers – is the limited edition KitKats which arrive each season. Previous flavours have included rum and raisin, tofu, cherry blossom and even wasabi. Other items that attract the magazine’s attention include a milky non-alcoholic “cider” called Mitsuya and Asahi BalanceUp Cream Crackers which – with their cream-filled sandwich structure and fig, blueberry or cream cheese flavourings – sound like ornate custard creams.
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