TOKYO - Seven-Eleven has launched a new service in collaboration with female members of Generation Z, raising the question of what a convenience store can offer beyond food and drinks.
At first glance, the store looks like any ordinary convenience outlet, but toward the back hangs an unfamiliar curtain. Behind it is a free powder room that Seven-Eleven began installing late last year, offering a space about the size of half a tatami mat with a large mirror whose brightness can be adjusted, along with a paid-use hair iron that works for both straight and curled styles.
The idea did not come from the retailer itself but from female university students belonging to Team Cinderella, a group of around 100 female university and high school students that partnered with Seven-Eleven to bring the service to life.
Akari Oga, a third-year university student and representative member of Team Cinderella, said that for her generation, the difference between a convenience store and a supermarket is no longer clear, adding that what they really want is not products but a change in mood. She said she would even like to turn Seven-Eleven into something like an amusement park.
Behind the initiative lies a challenge facing convenience stores as a whole, particularly in attracting customers. Tomomi Okagaki of Seven-Eleven Japan said that visit frequency among younger consumers has been declining, noting that while the company offers products they want, it has struggled to propose services that truly resonate with them.
Aiming to create convenience stores that excite young people, Seven-Eleven plans to gradually install the free powder rooms in areas with large student populations.
Source: TBS
