Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is going a step further for its elderly clientele in Japan by bringing the corner store to them. NHK Japan reported that 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 one 85-year-old female customer telling NHK Japan that she is less reliant on family members as a result. “It’s great. I had been asking my daughter to buy daily items.”
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.
