Daiso and Convenience Stores: 2025 Retail Revolution with Quick Commerce and E-commerce Insights
The retail landscape in 2025 is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by Daiso and convenience stores. The rise of quick commerce and e-commerce, coupled with strategic expansions of offline stores, is shaping a new era in the retail market. Based on insights from Nam Sung-hyun, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities, this article explores the retail strategies of Daiso and convenience stores, along with the underlying market trends.
1. Product Expansion Strategies of Daiso and Convenience Stores
Daiso has been expanding its SKU (stock-keeping units) by focusing on low-cost, small-quantity products, ranging from household goods, food items, health supplements, cosmetics, to sports equipment, aiming to boost sales. This strategy isn’t exclusive to Daiso—convenience stores are also adopting a similar approach by increasing their product offerings in local channels. For instance, convenience stores are transitioning to larger stores, introducing cosmetics and healthcare products to their inventory.
This shift is a strategic move to maximize revenue in a market with limited growth potential by replicating competitors' product offerings. Daiso leverages OEM and ODM models to supply a wide variety of products without building its own manufacturing lines, enhancing consumer accessibility through effective branding.
2. Growth of Offline Stores and Sales Strategies
Daiso’s sales growth is fueled by increased consumer visits, purchase frequency, and the expansion of store numbers. Initially focused on household goods, Daiso has broadened its offerings to include food, beverages, sports equipment, event-related products, and stationery, thereby increasing per-store sales. Similarly, convenience stores are overcoming the limitations of small and medium-sized stores by reconfiguring display spaces or expanding store sizes.
This approach allows for the growth of existing stores, paving the way for new store openings with ensured profitability through a scale-up structure. Daiso maintains its price competitiveness and supply chain strength, keeping consumer perceptions centered on affordable products while continuously expanding high-frequency product categories.
3. Adoption of Quick Commerce and E-commerce
Daiso is adopting quick commerce to enhance last-mile accessibility. While quick commerce companies are currently focused on food delivery, the dominance of large platforms like Coupang has weakened the competitiveness of smaller rider companies. As a result, these companies are diversifying into non-food product deliveries.
However, the low-cost nature of Daiso products and the tendency of consumers to visit stores in person may limit the benefits of quick commerce. Since consumers bear the logistics costs, the appeal of quick commerce could remain restricted. On the other hand, online platforms are evolving through omnichannel strategies, strengthening pickup functions to lock in consumers.
4. Changes in Convenience Stores and Hypermarkets
Convenience stores are shifting toward a larger store-size structure, entering a fiercely competitive landscape reminiscent of the Warring States period. In contrast, hypermarkets have reduced non-food SKUs in the past to improve profitability, but this has damaged their identity as comprehensive retailers, driving consumers toward local channels. Changes in population demographics and household composition are accelerating this trend.
5. Market Limitations and Future Outlook
The aggressive expansion of Daiso and convenience stores highlights the growth potential of local channels, but market limitations persist. Notably, quick commerce and online markets face challenges in exponentially increasing store numbers, and benefits may vary depending on consumer purchasing patterns. Daiso is focusing on strengthening online platforms and pickup functions through omnichannel strategies to retain consumers.
Analyst Nam Sung-hyun views these changes as part of a broader shift where retail companies are entering a Warring States era, expanding their strategic options. However, as a non-public company, Daiso’s internal strategies can only be analyzed with limitations from an external perspective.
Conclusion
Daiso and convenience stores are redefining the retail market through quick commerce, e-commerce, and offline store expansions. Their strategies to enhance consumer accessibility and maximize sales demonstrate the potential for local channel growth, but sustained innovation is essential to navigate market limitations and competitive dynamics.