Data released by the Japan Franchise Association on Monday revealed that sales from Japan’s seven main convenience stores —including the big three of 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart — reached a record high of ¥11.8 trillion in 2024. That’s a 1.2% increase from the previous year. Yet, while the number of visitors to the stores rose significantly to a reported 16.4 billion in 2024, the average amount spent per customer was ¥720.2, down 0.05% from 2023. This may be due to the price hikes in Japan last year as the cost of more than 12,500 food items rose.
Japanese Convenience Stores: High Quality and Reasonably Priced
Despite this, the price of goods at Japanese convenience stores is generally seen as very reasonable, particularly for foreign tourists, as the value of the yen is currently low. The quality of the food has also won a lot of praise from foreign visitors. Items such as the egg sando, the one thing legendary chef Anthony Bourdain kept “coming back to every time” he was in Japan, FamilyMart’s famichiki and soba noodles in a bread bun have garnered a lot of attention on social media sites. And with inbound tourism booming in Japan right now, convenience store sales have seen a surge in customers. “The increase in visitors from overseas was a factor that lifted sales,” an association official said.
Known as “konbini” in Japan, convenience stores here offer far more than just food and drink. An indispensable part of daily life, they act as a central hub, providing useful services such as ATMs, ticket reservation services, luggage mailing, places for people to pay their bills and much more. As of December 2024, there are 55,736 convenience stores in Japan. The figure a year prior was 23 lower at 55, 713.
