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Oddly, Brazil doesn't have 24-hour convenience stores[1]. Labor is very cheap and there are plenty of 24-hour gasoline stations, restaurants, bars, and pharmaci

Oddly, Brazil doesn't have 24-hour convenience stores[1]. Labor is very cheap and there are plenty of 24-hour gasoline stations, restaurants, bars, and pharmacies. But if you want a large bag of nuts or microwave popcorn or a banana at midnight in Sao Paulo, in an urban area of 12,000,000 people, you won't find it. (Well, unless you drive a long way to one of the few 24-hour hypermarkets, but that's not convenience.) I can't think of any business or cultural reason why it doesn't exist there. Maybe it's chicken-and-egg -- the public desire for convenience stores and the availability of lots of convenience stores -- have to co-evolve. [1] http://brazilsense.com/index.php?title=Common_in_the_USA_and_Canada_but_rare_in_Brazil http://brazilsense.com/index.php?title=Common_in_the_USA_and...

omarforgotpwd 9y ago
I don't know anything about Brazil, but off the top of my head, perhaps security or theft is a concern for convenience store owners? Presumably holding a lot of cash from sales late at night is risky.
victornomad 9y ago
I guess is cultural, maybe people dont need microwave popcorn or a banana at midnight! Having grown up in a rather small city and moved to bigger cities later on, I found it kind of funny how people go almost religously to the 7eleven to buy late night nuts and a can of coke (or something else). When I lived in Japan even sad... you have convenience stores everywhere, and people just go there because they get trapped in a habbit of buying a "melon bread" and a "vitamin drink" on the way back home daily fully replacing a real dinner I think convenience stores create a need rather than solving something en many cases... they just sell junk food that make people addicted to come back again and again to get those flavors...
- jpatokal 9y ago
  The food sold in Japanese convinience stores is head and shoulders above those of most countries though: you can get bento boxes, salads, onigiri rice balls, basic sushi, etc. Not exactly gourmet fare, and there's junk if you want that too, but way less than in the average US or European convenience store.
Wagthesam 9y ago
I’m here in Brazil (Recife) for Carnival and I’ve noticed a lack of retail in general. Way less food options, general stores than I expected

omarforgotpwd 9y ago

I don't know anything about Brazil, but off the top of my head, perhaps security or theft is a concern for convenience store owners? Presumably holding a lot of cash from sales late at night is risky.

victornomad 9y ago

I guess is cultural, maybe people dont need microwave popcorn or a banana at midnight! Having grown up in a rather small city and moved to bigger cities later on, I found it kind of funny how people go almost religously to the 7eleven to buy late night nuts and a can of coke (or something else). When I lived in Japan even sad... you have convenience stores everywhere, and people just go there because they get trapped in a habbit of buying a "melon bread" and a "vitamin drink" on the way back home daily fully replacing a real dinner I think convenience stores create a need rather than solving something en many cases... they just sell junk food that make people addicted to come back again and again to get those flavors...

jpatokal 9y ago
The food sold in Japanese convinience stores is head and shoulders above those of most countries though: you can get bento boxes, salads, onigiri rice balls, basic sushi, etc. Not exactly gourmet fare, and there's junk if you want that too, but way less than in the average US or European convenience store.

Wagthesam 9y ago

I’m here in Brazil (Recife) for Carnival and I’ve noticed a lack of retail in general. Way less food options, general stores than I expected