China News Service, Beijing, July 22 (Reporter Du Yan) Today, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association released the "2020 China City Convenience Store Index". The convenience store development index of Xiamen, Taiyuan, Dongguan, Changsha and Beijing ranked among the top five.
In order to promote the further development of China's convenience store industry, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association will survey and release the "China Urban Convenience Store Development Index" for 7 consecutive years in 2020. There are 36 cities in this survey, including 26 provincial and capital cities, 4 municipalities directly under the central government, 4 cities under separate state planning and 2 other cities. The core data of the index are the saturation of convenience stores in each city, the growth rate of the total number of stores, the proportion of 24-hour convenience stores, and the business environment. At the same time, the convenience store development index of each city is calculated.
The gap in the development speed of convenience stores between cities widens
From the survey results, convenience stores in most cities have developed to varying degrees over the same period last year, but the development of convenience stores varies from city to city. Due to the influence of various factors such as geographical location, climatic conditions, economic development, consumption habits, etc., the development of convenience stores between cities is quite different, showing their own characteristics.
Cities where the growth rate of convenience stores exceeded 10% last year accounted for 55.6% of the total number of cities surveyed in this survey, and the development of convenience stores in most cities maintained a relatively rapid growth rate. Among them, the convenience store growth rate in Xi'an reached 24.6%, the fastest growing among all cities, followed by Beijing and Xiamen. The development of convenience stores in Dalian, Lanzhou, and Harbin has shown a certain decline year-on-year.
Second and third-tier cities have greater development space
From a national perspective, due to the continued high rents and labor costs in first-tier cities, the operating pressure of convenience stores is unprecedentedly huge. With the continuous improvement of consumption levels in second- and third-tier cities, the convenience store market has more room for development, but The potential of market development varies greatly due to geographical differences.
The survey results show that the convenience store market in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen has basically matured in the first-tier cities. With the gradual scarcity of store resources and increasing competition pressure, the market development space is becoming more and more limited. But Beijing in the first-tier cities still maintained a relatively fast growth rate. In addition, among the cities in the northwestern district, Xi'an convenience stores have maintained a rapid development speed.
The proportion of 24-hour convenience stores needs to be increased
The survey results show that from a nationwide perspective, the percentage of 24-hour convenience stores is still not high overall. The main factors affecting the proportion of 24-hour convenience stores in various cities are geographical location and climate. Therefore, there are relatively more cities in the south where the proportion of 24-hour convenience stores is relatively high. The climatic conditions in the north have become the primary factor hindering the development of 24-hour convenience stores. Breaking through the constraints of climatic factors requires more local economic development and residents' consumption. From the perspective of convenience for the people, increasing the proportion of 24-hour convenience stores is an effective way to improve the services of urban residents.
Cities need to further implement supporting policy support
In January 2020, 13 departments including the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Accelerated Development of Branded Convenience Stores". Among them, 18 policies and measures clarify and refine how to optimize the business environment of convenience stores, and promote the development of convenience store branding, chaining, and intelligence, which will further promote the development of convenience stores. The China Chain Store & Franchise Association stated that at the local level, cities at all levels also need to successively introduce relevant supporting policies and measures in accordance with the "Opinions" to support the development of brand chain convenience stores, so that the policies in the "Opinions" can be further refined to support convenience. The development of the store is implemented in practice.
Among them, the supporting policies for convenience stores in Beijing and Xi'an have greatly ensured and promoted the healthy and rapid development of convenience stores, and have also provided references for cities to formulate supporting policies for related convenience stores. The support of the city's supporting policies will provide a strong guarantee for convenience stores to improve their service levels. However, from a national perspective, the policy support for convenience stores in various cities differs greatly and needs to be further deepened and implemented. (Finish)