The coastal city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province rolls out 14 policies to boost the development of convenience stores. [Photo/swj.xm.gov.cn]

Xiamen in East China's Fujian province introduced 14 policies to boost the development of convenience stores, aiming to encourage consumption and satisfy increasing demand.

According to the policies, branded convenience stores are allowed to sell class B non-prescription drugs. They are also encouraged to build fresh food factories, or cooperate with catering and food enterprises to develop fresh food products.

Some helpful public services will also be launched at convenience stores, as well as Xiamen's e-government services. The government is also encouraging convenience stores to expand business hours and offer 24-hour services. More public services will be provided to consumers, including free WiFi and hot water.

Additionally, local government will accelerate the intelligent development of convenience stores to embrace the integration of online and offline development and meet the demand of consumption upgrades. More advanced technologies and supporting facilities will be put in place to promote cold chain logistics, aiming to improve logistics efficiency.

Measures will be introduced to accelerate local brand cultivation, more high-quality convenience stores will be established, and intelligent retail terminals will be introduced in public places such as colleges and universities, hospitals, parks, subway stations and sporting venues in an effort to optimize the layout and improve the service level of convenience stores.