You can pay tax, bills, buy train and concert tickets, send donation money to most charities, call taxi, photocopy/print out/fax, collect all your online shopping items, send parcels, withdrawal cash, and even have your business meetings there. That's why ppl like convenient stores in Taiwan

Having moved to Taipei from the U.K. in September, it really is incredible how this came to be, and all the pieces fell in the right places. I can pick up concert tickets, send a package, top up my mobile contract, pay bills & get a bubble tea in the same transaction! Tea eggs are great on the go and it really caters to how I feel each day. After growing up and living in an average U.K. town all my life, it's the numerous simplicity that really gives you a comfort while living here. Very appreciative!

7-11 in Taiwan is CRAZY convenient. My uncle once got a parking ticket for $60 NTD, and 2 minutes later he went across the street to the 7-11 and paid off the ticket and got the usual lotto receipt to play the monthly drawing. My uncle told me at the time it was just easier to pay the ticket later than to find a parking meter because after all that's said and done, it's all just a wash and to him $60NTD for a parking ticket isn't bad and nothing really happens as long as you pay it on time. Considering how many 7-11 there are, you have no excuse. I forgot to mention we ended up buying ice cream and some other snacks which were more than the parking ticket itself, LOL!!!

Silly? Not at all! As a matter of fact, you gave me another dimension to like your channel. Not only is my job in IT ( thus luv the tech videos), but I do IT for real estate! All of the content here was great! Insights into franchises, what it takes to get a business off the ground, being relevant to the place you operate in, and how dynamic retail can be. Do more! It's great content!

I studied in Taiwan before coronavirus and it still shocked me that almost at every corner of streets there you're able to find convenient stores, and it's not exaggerating that you can do and complete almost everything in just every of them. In Taiwan, it's also impossible to have a moment that you can't find something to eat anytime of a day when you're hungry since there are convenience stores everywhere even in rural areas. The convenience level there was for me beyond unbelievable.

A 15 minute video about Taiwans convenience stores narrated with a somewhat monotone voice and its still one of the most interesting things I have watched this week on youtube. I don't know what makes this formula work but its certainly amazing. I am always happy to click on these!

I worked for two summers in 🇹🇼 Taiwan, it was so unbearably hot that I would plot my route along 7-11's, stopping in the cool air-conditioned stores to survive, buying snacks to be courteous, favorites included papya milk, sweet bread, tea eggs

The first time I visited Taipei to play a concert, it was the first trans-pacific show on our trip. It was a long day and got in very late. It was mind blowing that the 7-eleven on the corner from our hotel had absolutely everything I needed to get a good nights sleep- 300ml of Johnny walker, a gigantic lager, chapaghetti, and Winston menthols. Beautiful city, had an amazing time.

You didn’t mention another reason why these stores are convenient. They provide a vast channel of distribution for delivery of e-commerce products and also windows for ticketing and various fee payments.

I love the video man, not silly at all. I think people would like more cultural insights into Taiwan.

When I had a military exercise in Taiwan for mandatory service, we set up an OP near a village specifically near a 7-11 so that we can go get food while we wait for days doing nothing. Also Taiwan has another type of food store, food vans, they can set up shop literally anywhere and deliver food every where. They would hook up the camps with phone numbers so that we can call them and they would come set up shop in the middle of the mountains lol

I took my kids to visit Taiwan back in 2013. It was nice to see Taiwanese snacks in a 7-11, wish I could get those in the US :)

No matter the topic, your videos are always top notch, totally engaging, and to the point. Your delivery is really, really good, and the material is well-researched and, while presented in a matter of fact manner, is so totally listenable! And we love when you sneak in the occasional well placed, tongue-in-cheek comment. Keep up the outstanding work.

Man, convenience stores are kind of like rest stations in America, except way better. When it was too hot, or we got tired or hungry, we just popped into a nearby convenience store. They were almost always clean, and you could sit down and chill with a drink and a snack. There were also bathrooms and wifi if I remember right. The food was also way better compared to the food you get at convenience stores here in America. Man, I miss Taiwan.

I have six 7-11s within 5 minutes walk + a few other chains. It being 24/7 also means I always have a place to buy food/drinks/alcohol no matter what on top of a place to pay bills, ATM, etc... They also act as pick-up/drop-off points for peer to peer online shopping hosting many online platforms, allowing buyers to pay cash on pick-up.

Asian convenience stores have fascinated me since I first saw bits and pieces on the Travel Channel. Getting to experience them in the Shenmue games made me fall in love with them. Whenever I finally get to travel to Asia 7/11 will be my first stop! This was a cool video. I'd love to have more videos like this, cultural, day-to-day life stuff.

7-11's in Taiwan are amazing. I traveled to some smaller cities and, for someone who doesn't speak Chinese, they were a dependable place to get water and food and to fill up the cash card.

A subject doesn't have to be important or complicated to be interesting. Thanks for the video.

The convenience stores I have seen in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea were a staple for me. I basically went everyday to buy at least one thing, mail something, or pay a bill.

In high-traffic areas it's not weird at all to have two shops of this nature so close together: there's simply more than one shop's worth of business there. At Robson and Thurlow in Vancouver, Canada there were two Starbucks shops kitty-corner from each other (even closer than shown in your video) for a couple of decades. Also, with convenience stores, it's not always the case that if there were only one store it would get all, or even most, of the business that two get. The two you show are physically close together, but because of the need to cross two streets if you're on the far corner from one, removing one could well be sending customers down the block to a different convenience store because people find that faster, or at least less annoying, than waiting for two lights in order to cross.

Having cycled the length of both Taiwan and South Korea, I can vouch for their ubiquity and convenience. I would say that they are an integral part of bike touring there.

7-Eleven is still very popular in Canada but their operations have quietly scaled back. Circle K is the really big convenience store operator in Canada having taken over all of the Mac's and Speedway Convenience stores. Stop-N-Shop is owned by Petro Canada which in turn is owned by Suncor corporation. Not to be confused with other Stop-N-Shop stores that operate throughout the US.

I visited Taiwan a couple weeks ago and I saw way more instance of FamilyMart standing right next to 7 Eleven than in Tokyo and it gave me chuckles. Great vid as always.

I'd visited a Taiwan7-11 Store in 2017 and oh my, I was amazed to the merchandise and food items that carried which puts the 7-11 Stores in the US to shame. The so-called fast foods are very tasty, plentiful and inexpensive. Heck, I bought 2 well-made blouses for less than $4 US each. The store was clean, well-kept and stocked neatly.

Having just returned from Taipei this couldn't have been better timed. With the high population density, it definitely made all the difference to have so much convenience at one's doorstep. Made it feel comfy, my second home now

I absolutely love watching KZfaq videos about these stores and what can be purchased from them. I never thought you would make a video about it, but I’m extremely happy you did!

Taiwan has the best convenience stores in the world, surpassing even Japan and Thailand. Besides the excellent tea eggs they are usually big and spacious with a seating area inside and often also one outside and almost always have a toilet, which can be hard to find otherwise in Taiwan. There are even ones where a few people travelling around the island on bicycle will spend the whole night and the management does not kick them out. Even in pretty remote areas, if there's a 7-11 there's almost always a FamilyMart close by. It seems that if one opens in a new area that competition is guaranteed to join them very soon.

the most convenient thing about these stores in Taiwan is probably ordering stuff online and choosing the store closest to you to pick up your package.

in addition to the density of the convenience stores in Taiwan, what amazed me (and horrified at the same time) is the number of services they provided, and those who work there have to learn all the things. the epitome of getting the most out of them.

We do love our convenience stores here! Thanks for making such a thorough and informative video. Stores these days are providing more and more services such as sending/receiving parcels, laundry, and even draft beer. I'm truly amazed by how much the staff needs to learn 😂

Yup! There are 2 7-11 and 1 Family Mart within 3 minutes walk from my home. One can definitely live off convenient stores in Taiwan. On top of the usual services, selling snacks, drinks, freshly brewed coffee, lunch boxes, etc. you pay bills, send and pick up parcels, buy train tickets, concert tickets, amusement park tickets, make xerox copies, print documents, scan and store documents, send and receive emails, withdraw money.

I just spent a month in a town that is the last MRT station on a rail route leading to Taipei. I was stunned at how critical the convenience stores are to life there. That is where we would buy milk, yogurt, occasional baked products. But also, pay bills, buy train tickets to the middle of Taiwan… The range of services they provided was stunning. (We generally bought other foods at open air markets, but occasionally from larger supermarkets.) I made more trips to 7/11 and FamilyMart in one month in Taiwan than I made in a decade to 7/11 in the US.

I live in Taiwan, there are almost 20 convenient stores in a 500m radius from my home. Even a 7-11 is located literally right next to a family Mart.

This is a great perspective on an aspect of Taiwan's retail market - not silly at all - just a cultural survey of another country.

As a Taiwanese, I learned so much, awesome job!

A few weeks ago, I gave my Taiwanese wife a link to your channel. Though she is not very tech oriented and I didn't get much of a response from her at the time. However, she (and my daughter) are crazy about 7-11 and seem to spend most of their time in their stores when they are in Taiwan. So I sent them the link to this video. Their responses: "amazing😭" and "The video is very interesting!!!". The tears (from my daughter) express the fact that as she is now back to her university in Bristol UK and no longer has access to 7-11.

I grew up with a 7-11 next to my house in Taipei in the early 1980s. Of course, I got the tea eggs which went for 5 NTD or about the exchange equivalent of 12.5 cents. That was 40 years ago and inflation adjusted, those eggs were about $1 in today’s dollars. Indeed, when I was in Taipei last week, they were still selling the tea eggs for about $1. Back then I thought 7-11 was the epitome of massive success. Little me didn’t know they were in the midst of dire financial straits and wouldn’t break even for 7 more years.

Buying a petrol company to protect the gas supply chain, but then becoming insolvent and losing everything in the process. That's some unfortunate irony for Southland.

this channel is crazy you are pumping out good content at an insane rate, but you must be learning so much

You can research and present anything, my man, just outstanding, thanks!

I remember in Taibei we spent a night drinking one beer in a 7-11 and moved on to the next that had to be visible from the first one, drink a beer there and so on.

very interesting, learned a lot! I only know the Thai Seven Elevens, which seem a little simpler than the Taiwanese ones (But way more diverse than the super basic Malaysian ones I visited). The situation in Thailand is somewhat similar in terms of competition and placement, so still I can deduct some valuable information by proxy thanks to your video. Would love more of these type of videos on relatively small scale and day to day subjects. Maybe like the economics of the small neighbourhood markets next? 🙏😬

Interesting topic for me an Indonesian who visited Taiwan and see the presence of 7-11 and family mart everywhere in Taipei, because while 7-11 and family mart grow across east asia, here in Indonesia 7-11 just close down due to the franchise dispute. Family Mart and Circle K still open but only in small quantity and dwarfed by Indomart and Alfamart two local convinience stores . There are also Lawson which the franchise in Indonesia own by Alfa group.

I love this issue. You are always doing a good analysis that helps us understand what is behind our lives. Convenience is in our lifestyle and it's inevitable until we find a new way. Thanks for your time and intelligence. I was involved in the design & of the 7-11 store in the '80s. It was the smallest and ugliest retail project, but mass product quantity is above quality. The number of the poor surpasses the rich, sad but true.

cool video, I enjoy the breadth of your topic selection for video essays.

As always, an interesting and educational video! I appreciate learning more about the different industries in Taiwan and this is certainly one of them!

Convenience stores in Taiwan are so much better than here in Australia. Better pricing, more services and broader range. Try buying a beer, wine or bourbon here. Can't wait to be back in Taiwan to hear that 7-11 door chime. I think it's the same one used at all stores.

Thanks for the video. Good to know about things like this and the history of the business. This was one of the things that struck me when I visited Taiwan. How busy all the convenience stores were and how well it's integrated into the every day life of Taiwanese people. Thanks for the video n the great work your video r doing.

This is such a well timed video for me, as I plan to visit Taiwan for the first time in February! I've seen these types of convenient stores in Japan as well, but I've never realized that you can buy train tickets and receive packages there as well! That's super useful!

I think right before talking expansion, you should mention the addition of Icee machines to make their own brand called Slurpee. They marketed the drink and because of a non-compete clause with Icee, it actually helped 7-11 become a destination and not just a convenient stop.

Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Thailand have incredible stores. Very good quality food in most cases. The US needs to get these Asian operators to improve things. Great story!

Useful information on a ubiquitous retail store.

I love your precision of research. You will name all kinds of historical influences in so little time while staying concise. Thank you for your service to humanity and knowledge.

One of my favorite episodes. Getting a feel for life in other places is the best. Thank you for the work you do.

I love Taiwan. Taipei is famed for its convenience. It's an island paradise.

We have similar thing in Poland - żabka stores, you can even send your shoes to be cleaned or repaired there, send your phone for repair and more

My favorite of all your videos yet!! 10/10🎉

I would love to hear more on this if youre interested. You make every topic compelling with your excellent presentation.

Well, maybe you did make a 10+ minute video about convenience stores, but I don't care because you always bring so much interesting information to the table that I find it worthwhile. Thank you.

Interesting subject... I kinda loved the selection of convenience stores in Japan, not only 7 Eleven mind you, but the variety of other ones we found during the trip. It is mostly 7 Eleven and Family Marts all around, but there are still some smaller names here and there, which were interesting in themselves as they seemed to be trying to differentiate themselves from the model and trying to offer something different. At the same time though, I also kinda wondered about the domination and ubiquity of those everywhere we went as a sort of potentially harmful monopolistic or oligopolistic practice. In my country, for whatever reasons, the convenience store model never caught up. You have some chains of what people call convenience stores here that are mostly operating inside a gas station, but it doesn't come close to offering the selection of products a Japanese convenience store does. It's often cleaner and more sanitized in comparison to mom and pop shops, but as prices are often more expensive, it's not a place people go to shop for daily necessities... it's more like stuff you pay while on trips. Some even carry imported stuff for those wanting to splurge a bit, or to buy a gift for relatives they are visiting, stuff like that. What the US would consider bodegas, or just smaller general markets are still surviving here, but really major chains that are consolidating are the big supermarket chains... Walmart is a big one here, but each region of the country has some local brands that went big. There is a huge mix of things that stops there major international franchises from entering the country I guess. Labyrinthic bureaucracy, high importation taxes, established local brands and names, how local commerce works, and perhaps some part of law against monopolistic practices which I'm not too aware of... don't think that's it, it's mostly the complexity of the market itself. Oh, my country is Brazil btw. There are some notorious cases of giant international monopolies not getting a big hold down here. Amazon, quite ironically, never quite caught on down here. I shop online locally with relative frequency, and among the big brands I have to say Amazon is the one I use the least, if at all. The company came down here pretty late and only offering books (both physical and digital), it took them a while figuring out how to sell physical products which they do these days, but they still don't cover most things that the biggest online retailers in the country do. One thing that caught on because of Amazon down here though is third party market sellers, but the local big brands launched that before Amazon basically stealing the concept, so Amazon got left behind there too. There are a few Starbucks down here, but it seems much more like a novelty thing rather than seriously trying to attend most of the country. That has a little more reason to happen though, as Brazilian taste for coffee simply does not match what Starbucks is trying to sell. McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza Hut came early on and they are far more widespread and integrated in our culture by now, but I think we face them differently... fast food in general isn't considered very cheap down here. Most of them are confined inside shopping malls (yes, those still exist here), which is a place middle to upper class goes to eat. They are kinda expensive in comparison to local restaurants, bars and whatnot. Pizza Hut in particular is very expensive in comparison to most other pizza places in Brazil, which we have by the truckloads... but I think it survives because it is markedly different to our style of pizza. It's almost double the price of other places I order from regularly though. Domino's is like that too. There are lots of other big franchises that either didn't enter the country, or have a way smaller presence... another one that comes to mind is Ikea. Not sure if we have none, or if there are a few in major capitals. Sometimes I miss those, but sometimes I also think it's kind of a blessing in disguise, because this allows for smaller local names, and even mom and pop shops to continue surviving, which not only allows for the flourishing of small businesses, but also from a consumer standpoint, allows for more diversity and options, so you are free to go for the ones that fits you best. I live in a relatively small capital city right downtown, some 4 blocks away from a couple of mid sized supermarkets, but I buy mostly of my grocery from a smaller shop one block away from me that has the best selection of produce for my tastes. Also 6 blocks away from a Japanese products shop that is half import, half local, and they also sell grains and other stuff by weight which is also great. My mom and some relatives who went on the trip to Japan with me back in 2018 were complaining exactly about that... they liked the whole convenience market concept, we visited a bunch of them, but they missed having different options for produce, fruits, and whatnot that they are used to here in Brazil. xD I think we should've visited some open street markets and fairs... thought I'm not sure if they have many of those selling produce specifically in Japan.

I think this was an important video because it touches so many people. I am in Florida and the 7/11 around the corner actually has better coffee than the Starbucks down the street. It is an amazing business model. Have a Magical Day!

Taiwan has 23 million people and by my estimate 46 million scooters.

I always enjoy the lighter videos with the more cultural focus. The view on day to day Taiwanese culture isn’t something I see much of and it can be good to have a break from the more dense technical topics.

Great and very informative. Just want to add that there was another chain called 福客多 (Nikomart) run by another food and cooking oil company, 泰山 (Taisun). It eventually merged with FamilyMart. 泰山 Taisun has recently been in the news because it sold its FamilyMart shares resulting in some lawsuit. Also, it would be more accurate if you used a picture of the old lottery 愛國獎券, instead of the newer one.

This type of video is amazing! More content like this would be incredible

I loved this video man, I shared it with my 臺灣 friends who are still learning English

The convenience stores in Japan are great, so it was very interesting to learn about the Taiwanese version. Videos on the history etc of these stores in Japan, Korea and other places in Asia would be warmly received. They play an important part in the daily lives of the general population and are worthy of your research and presentation skills.

I recently found your channel i must say i do enjoy your content, good quality! Take care and thx for the content!

Honestly, this was a great video. Please keep producing these interesting informative videos.

Great video. You should not worry about it getting too long. This was just as interesting as one of your tech videos. I would not mind if it was twice as long. Especially since me, like most people, barely know what it is like living in Taiwan. IMHO that is a very fascinating subject by itself.

i love these kind of videos. keep em comin'!

Taipei is my favorite city. Everything is so convenient, including public transportation. Lots of things to do and places to go, just a bus or a train away.

I wish this was longer with more detail. I loved it. When there are multiple stores nearby I would go to the one on my side of the road :-D

Thanks for the video, this is definitely one of my favorites from your channel, and not silly at all. I have always been fascinated by Asian convenience stores and how they are so much better than American ones.

Great Video - very interesting, Jon! Thank You

Such a timely show. I’m heading over next week. Will visit these convenience stores for sure.

Great stuff! Your narration always reminds me a bit of Paul Harvey (from way back)

I think you really miss the point of the convince stores in Taiwan. You actually pay rent, utilities, wire money, buy phone cards, atm, bus, metro tickets, and so many other non buying food goods that makes Taiwan convenient stores unique. I lived and worked in Taiwan. It was a very unique take on convenience stores.

7-11 culture is embedded in Taiwanese culture in a way that is hard to describe. You can pay your government bills - including taxes - at 7-11. It is a publicly held utility that happens to trade under the ticker 2912. It serves so many social purposes and provides so many services e.g. to the unbanked that it is now completely bound into Taiwanese culture. Additionally it is a bricks and mortar version of WeChat. All transactions are possible. And as long as the 7-11 network continues to work, it cannot be destroyed i.e it is impervious to say..... a military invasion.

this is amazing, wish it were longer!

Video was very informative . Thank You!

I read a paper on supply chains that the decision to offer package delivery from 7Elevens in TW was because of the network of trucks radiating from main cities out into the regions. Once they had their first delivery there was space for customer packages. A neat method of the truck network earning money for return to base.

Love 7-11 and Family Mart when I visit my in-laws in Tainan and Taipei. Always one close by for coffee or beer, train tickets or charging my card for the MRT. Wish the American counterparts were as good! Thanks for the video providing the back story.

Thanks for the video. I grew up in Texas and as a kid, 7-11 was the place where my parents could fill the car with gas and I could get a Slurpee. It was at the end of you street so I could also ride my bike to it. I had no idea it was in other countries, much less that it was owned Japanese company and that three other countries have more stores than there are in the US.

Visiting Taiwan is easily the most convenient experience ever, the most convenient country in Asia.

I used to visit the Hi Life outside the campus I was on when I studied abroad in Taiwan years ago. I would go for either tea eggs or meat buns and some Hey Song Sasparilla

I wouldn't have known without you making this video, so thank you :)

Yay more content on Taiwan culture! Keep em coming!

one of your best videos ever. thank you.

You could talk about the development of maltodextrin and I would listen. You really do have a skill for making educational material interesting. Keep going!

11:20 another way to think about it is to think of the 2 closeby stores as one store with two entrances. They will have slightly different offerings, and if one store ran out of dumplings, maybe the other hasn't

14:21 Taiwan has the best instant noodles for eating dry. I remember years ago there was a "homerun noodle" with a guy hitting a baseball on the bag, that thing was addictive! Crisp fried noodles, salty, a little sweet, and hint of shrimp. I never see the good stuff in Asian markets here -_-

Excellent 👍 Great story and very well presented!! Thank you!

I found this video about convenience stores to be very insightful, and enjoyed it very much.

Very interesting and well written. Thank you!

Got caught in the rain and need an umbrella, clean socks and underwear? Go to a convenience store. Need a quick meal but the restaurants are all full? Go to a convenience store. Need to buy tickets for a concert or an exhibition? Go to a convenience store. Convenience stores in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are incredible experiences.

I just spent a couple of weeks in Taipei on a work trip. I miss having 7-11 and FamMart within walking distance.

Interesting - very well done! You didn’t mention Thailand, but while I was living in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok we had 5 7-11s within 250 m of our building. And they were all busy. Crazy but effective business model!

Never thought I'd find much of interest in 7/11 or franchised convenience stores in general. But, you proved me wrong. Learning about its progression, diversification, and international growth is actually quite interesting.

Well done great research.