Taiyuan boasts the most developed convenience store markets. [Photo/Taiyuan Evening News]

The China Chain-Store & Franchise Association (CCFA) released the 2025 China City Convenience Store Development Index on Oct 17. Taiyuan in North China's Shanxi province ranked third nationwide with an overall development index of 91.1.

Since 2014, CCFA has conducted and published the China City Convenience Store Development Index for 12 consecutive years. The index's core data includes the growth rate of the total number of chain convenience stores, market saturation, the proportion of 24-hour convenience stores, and the business environment across sample cities.

The development of convenience stores across various cities has maintained stability and improvement. The average overall development index of convenience stores in sample cities reached 81.1, up 1.3 percentage points year-on-year; the median was 81.5, an increase of 0.6 percentage points year-on-year.

Convenience store penetration continued to rise, with a median of one store per 5,983 people and an average of one per 6,721 people. This increase was seen in 28 of the 40 sample cities, with Dongguan, Changsha, Taiyuan, Guangzhou, and Xiamen boasting the highest density of convenience stores.

Taiyuan received a "Good" rating, ranking highest among cities with this designation. Other cities earning the same rating include Beijing, Xi'an, Jinan, Nanchang, Yichang, and Shijiazhuang.