TAIPEI: The pace of growth in the number of convenience stores in Taiwan last year fell to its lowest in six years, the Fair Trade Commission said.
The five leading convenience store chains in Taiwan — 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart and Million — opened 53 new outlets last year, an increase of 0.52 percent from a year earlier, the commission said.
The chains operated 10,207 outlets last year, its data showed.
Compared with 2005, the number of convenience stores last year rose by 17.8 percent, but a saturated market has slowed down their pace of expansion in the past few years, the commission said.
The chains operated a total of 2,039 stores in New Taipei City last year, accounting for 19.98 percent of the total, it added.
Taipei was No. 2 with 1,472 convenience stores (14.42 percent), ahead of Taoyuan with 1,203 stores (11.79 percent), the commission said.
About 7,540 convenience stores provided services in the six metropolitan areas last year, making up 73.87 percent of the total, the data showed.
Cigarettes, beverages, boxed meals, sandwiches and hot food were the most popular items in convenience stores, in addition to a wide range of services, the comission’s data showed.
The total number of customers at convenience stores reached 2.91 billion last year, little changed from a year earlier and likely reflecting the slowdown in expansion, the commission said.
However, average spending per customer rose from NT$65 in 2009 to NT$72 last year, showing that people in Taiwan have grown more dependent on the stores in their daily lives and are making more purchases there.
