Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is going a step further for its elderly clientele in Japan by bringing the corner store to them. The so-called “mobile convenience store” travels by truck twice a week to a housing complex in Tokyo where many elderly people live.

The service started last Thursday, offering about 150 items including food such as bread and pre-prepared meals, in an attempt to help seniors who don’t have supermarkets nearby.

Many seniors visited the store on the first day of its operation with NHK Japan reporting that one 85-year-old female customer is now less reliant on family members as a result. “It’s great. I had been asking my daughter to buy daily items.”

(Screen caption from NHK Japan_)

Hiroki Iwamoto of 7-Eleven Japan said, “There is demand because the number of retailers is shrinking at the same time that society is aging more quickly. We want to contribute.”

7-Eleven rivals Lawson and FamilyMart also operate mobile convenience stores in some areas.

Author: Ruth Hogan

This article first appeared on Inside FMCG, a sibling publication to Inside Franchise Business.