Ministry of Economic Affairs: Chain convenience store revenue to break through 300 billion yuan

1. Chain convenience stores provide a wide range of everyday goods and diversified services, meeting consumers' diverse needs, and have become an indispensable part of daily life. In 2015, the revenue of convenience stores in our country reached 295 billion yuan, an annual increase of 2.0%. This year, benefiting from the Lunar New Year shopping rush, an increase in the number of people traveling during consecutive holidays, and the constant introduction of new products, cumulative revenue from January to May was 125.9 billion yuan, an annual increase of 5.2%.

2. In 2014, merchandise sales revenue in our country accounted for 96.7%, while service revenue accounted for 3.3%, leaving room for further development. In merchandise sales, food and beverages ranked first in our country at 59.4%, while non-food items accounted for 40.6%.

3. According to statistics on store counts from Distribution News, after the total number of stores of our country's four major convenience store chains exceeded 10,000 at the end of 2014, it reached 10,199 by the end of May 2016, with one convenience store for every 2,304 people on average.

4. The growth in the number of convenience stores in our country has slowed. In 2015, there was a net increase of 56 stores, the lowest in six years, and from January to May this year only 12 were added. Due to fierce competition within the industry and across industries, operators are not only actively expanding the seating economy and opportunities in the prepared food market, but are also introducing the store-within-a-store and hybrid store models, strengthening e-commerce, mobile shopping and payment platforms. It is expected that chain convenience store revenue this year will break through 300 billion yuan.