Japan's top two convenience store chains, Seven-Eleven and FamilyMart, have joined hands to survive, drawing attention to how South Korea's own convenience store industry — its growth momentum now stalled — is searching for a way forward. Where the industry once expanded by adding stores, it is now shifting its focus to differentiated product lineups, specialty stores and overseas expansion.
Seven-Eleven and FamilyMart began integrating their automated teller machine (ATM) operations in June, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 19th. Under the arrangement, ATMs installed at FamilyMart outlets are being replaced with Seven Bank machines. Consolidating the machines on one side lowers the cost of cash transport and management, improving efficiency for both companies, the two firms calculate.
Cost Cuts on the Surface, Population Decline at the Root
The surface reason for the tie-up is cost reduction, but the more fundamental cause is weakening purchasing power driven by a shrinking population, according to the industry's assessment. Japan's population peaked at 128.05 million in 2010 and has been declining since. As of January this year, it stood at about 119.73 million, falling below the 120 million mark.
The convenience store industry has been hit immediately. According to the Japan Franchise Association (JFA), the number of convenience stores in Japan peaked at 55,979 in 2019 before stagnating and declining. The count fell to 55,838 in 2022, down 112 from the previous year, and slipped further to 55,713 in 2023. It then settled into a plateau, at 55,736 in 2024 and 56,054 in 2025. In rural and provincial areas in particular, rapid population outflows have left a growing number of stores facing both sluggish sales and labor shortages, according to the association.
Korea's Three-Decade Growth Streak Breaks
With some lag, the situation in South Korea is not much different. The number of convenience stores in the country rose steadily from 50,500 in 2021 to 54,200 in 2022 and 55,580 in 2023. But it turned lower in 2024 at 54,852, and is estimated to have fallen to 53,000 last year. After peaking at about 55,600 in 2023, store numbers began declining in 2024. Sales are tracing a similar curve, shifting from a steady rise to stagnation or decline. Since Seven-Eleven opened its first store in Seoul's Songpa district in 1989, convenience store sales had grown for more than 30 years — until the first half of last year, when they contracted 0.5% from a year earlier for the first time.
Korea's convenience stores are seeking a way forward through overseas expansion, specialty stores and differentiated product lineups. Overseas markets in particular are seen as a stage where the domestic industry can secure new growth engines. Major players such as GS25, CU and Seven-Eleven are expanding their store counts in Mongolia, Vietnam and Malaysia, transplanting Korean convenience store products and operating systems into local markets. With room to open new stores at home shrinking, the strategy is to sustain top-line growth by expanding overseas.
Expansion Has Limits; Quality Growth Through Higher Profitability
At home, the focus is shifting from adding stores to improving profitability and differentiation. Notable among the efforts is a stronger lineup of differentiated products, including private-brand (PB) offerings in liquor, bakery goods, ready-to-eat meals and coffee. Chains are also rolling out specialty stores aimed at specific consumer groups and commercial districts. Efforts continue to turn convenience stores from simple neighborhood shops for buying necessities into spaces where customers can eat, shop and even enjoy cultural activities.
"The competitive landscape for Korea's convenience stores has shifted from 'how many stores you can secure' to 'how much revenue and profit you can generate from a single store,'" an industry official said. "The industry's emphasis on expanding specialty stores and strengthening differentiated product lineups is a strategic change reflecting this shift."
