April 1, 2024

Seven & i Holdings will Introduce a Full-scale Immediate Delivery Service at its Subsidiary Ito-Yokado

Seven & I have teamed up with delivery startup OniGO (Tokyo) to expand the service to 120 stores by February 2025. The service delivers fresh and ready-made foods in as little as 20 minutes. In addition to structural reforms such as downsizing apparel, Seven & I will underpin its management with new food services, a pillar of its growth strategy.

Life Corporation's online supermarket with Amazon Japan offers delivery in as little as two hours, while Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper emphasizes same-day delivery. Ito-Yokado's minimum delivery time of 20 minutes is the fastest level. AEON is working with the British Ocado Group on an online supermarket that allows customers to specify delivery times in one-hour increments. Ito-Yokado's development will accelerate the spread of online supermarkets.

Ito-Yokado merged with the group's supermarket, York, in the fall of 2023. York will begin immediate delivery at 80 Ito-Yokado stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Chubu, and Kansai by the end of May. In addition, 40 York stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area are expected to introduce the system, bringing the total to 120 stores by February 2025. More than 50% of all supermarkets operated by Ito-Yokado will offer immediate delivery.

Ito-Yokado introduced the service on a trial basis at some of its stores last fall and, after confirming demand, decided to introduce it on a full-scale basis. Users can choose from 7,000 to 8,000 items, including food, and place their orders through OniGO's dedicated app and other means. Ito-Yokado employees will search for the ordered items, and OniGO staff will deliver them. It estimates that the price is 10% to 20% higher than the retail price, but stable usage can be expected.

According to a 2023 Mobile Marketing Data Labo survey, 17% of all respondents had used an immediate delivery service. Teenagers of both genders are more likely to intend to use the service. The domestic market is predicted to exceed 800 billion yen by 2028.