【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.298: The convenience store industry has been hit hard by COVID-19

The number of convenience stores, which was always on the rise, decreased for the first time in 2019 (Figure 1). This suggests that the placement of convenience stores has reached a saturated level. Despite this decrease, the total sales increased by 1.7% in 2019 compared to those in 2018 (Figure 2). However, due to the restraint of socio-economic activities to prevent the rise of COVID-19 cases, sales have significantly declined since March 2020 compared to figures from the previous year (Figure 3).

Figure 1 Number of convenience stores

Source: Japan Franchise Association

Figure 2 Total sales of convenience stores

Source: Japan Franchise Association

Figure 3 Rate of change of monthly sales in convenience store throughout 2020

Source: Japan Franchise Association