Image: close-up of japanese currency
C-stores in Japan are losing customers to drugstores and e-commerce.
In a recent report, the three leading C-stores in Japan all logged declines in sales. Overall traffic across the seven major store chains had dropped for the 24th straight month.
The Japanese Franchise Association released the report showing the longest slump in sales since they began collecting the data in 2004.
While the market expanded in 2017 with sales reaching $100 billion, growth slowed to 1.8 percent, the association said.
By contrast, C-store competitors, drugstores have a forecasted growth of 5.5 percent. Fresh foods and an increase in 24-hour locations have contributed to the growth.