making multiple deliveries per day possible. Generally, food goods are delivered to each store two to five times a day from factories. Since products are delivered as needed, stores do not need large stock areas. According to The Japan Franchise Association, (data pertaining to the month of July 2021), there are 55,931 convenience stores in Japan. 7-Eleven leads the market with 12,467 stores, followed by: Lawson (9,562) and FamilyMart (7,604). Other operators include Circle K Sunkus (acquired by Family Mart in 2016; now defunct), Daily Yamazaki, Ministop, Am/Pm Japan (acquired by Family Mart in 2009; now defunct), Poplar, Coco Store (acquired by Family Mart in 2015; now defunct) and Seico Mart. Many items available in larger supermarkets can be found in Japanese convenience stores, though the selection is usually smaller. As well, the following additional services are also commonly available: Courier and postal service. Photocopying and fax service. Automated teller machines. Payment service for utilities and other bills and taxes. Ticket service for concerts, theme parks, airlines etc. Pre-paid cards for cellular phones. Some stores also sell charging service for electronic money and ATM services for credit card or consumer finance. Items not commonly sold include: Slurpees, lottery tickets, car supplies and gasoline. Konbini also offer customers the option of making konbini payments (often also referred to as just konbini), an offline payment solution that allows customers without credit or debit cards to make online purchases. A consumer can buy online services or goods, such as video games on Steam or tickets for events. By selecting konbini as payment method at the checkout, the consumer receives a unique transaction code with an expiration date. Depending on the brand (i.e. 7–11 is slightly different than Family Mart), consumers will have to go to any convenience store and finalise the purchase, which can be either at the cashier or at the kiosk. Multiple providers offer konbini as checkout option for foreign companies selling online in Japan, such as Adyen, Degica and Ingenico ePayments. In 1974, Japan had 1,000 convenience stores. In 1996, Japan had 47,000 convenience stores and the number was increasing by 1,500 annually. Peter Landers of the Associated Press said that the computerised distribution system allows Japanese convenience stores to stock a wider variety of products, allowing them to be more competitive in the marketplace. Because of this technology and the consequent ease of maintaining the right amount of stock,