Aug 23, 2021 (Nikkei) - Convenience store operator Seven & i Holdings will launch delivery services across Japan as early as 2026, Nikkei has learned.
The operator expects to be able to deliver food and dairy products to homes in around 30 minutes from its 20,000 7-Eleven stores. It intends to start offering the service in fiscal 2026 and compete with e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com.
The move comes amid a slump in Japan's convenience store market. According to a Nikkei survey, industrywide sales fell 6.1% to around 11.8 trillion yen in 2020, marking the first decline since 1981.
At the same time, Japan's e-commerce market grew 22%, to around 12.2 trillion yen, partly thanks to the rise of stay-at-home consumption. E-commerce sales surpassed those of convenience chains for the first time in 2020.
Seven expects deliveries to catalyze growth. The company currently offers delivery services from around 550 stores, in Tokyo, Hokkaido and Hiroshima Prefecture. It will start offering deliveries from almost all of its 21,000 convenience stores across Japan.
By using stores that are close to consumers as delivery bases, Seven will offer "last mile" deliveries in as few as 30 minutes.
"Stores are not only a place to buy products but also a place to store inventory," President Ryuichi Isaka told Nikkei. "The service can be expanded in a short time without capital investment."
Consumers can order via a website or an app. Around 3,000 food items and daily products will be available. Every purchase should be worth more than 1,000 yen ($9), with an additional delivery fee of 330 yen. The service will be available until 11 p.m.
