The Future of Convenience Stores in China: Implications for Food Companies

Convenience stores will remain one of the fastest-growing brick-and-mortar channels in China, providing a massive opportunity for both retailers and food companies, according to the Rabobank report, ‘The Future of Convenience Stores in China.

In fact, the value sales of convenience stores will reach USD 65.7bn by 2024, according to the China Chain Store & Franchise Association and Rabobank estimates. “Food companies should pay close attention to the fast rise of the convenience-store channel in China and get more involved in the development of convenience stores in order to benefit in the future,” reports Michelle Huang, analyst – consumer foods.

“Rabobank believes the next development phase for convenience stores is accelerated digitization of supply chains to increase efficiency and set up the supply pipeline to address consumers’ increasing need for fresh products. The end goal for community c-stores is to be integrated into the smart-living community, where the future consumers are likely to live.”