“There’s always someone else in the world doing something better than you,” noted NACS Director of Global Mark Wohltmann during the first day of the NACS Convenience Summit Asia in Tokyo this week.

In a channel like convenience that is constantly evolving, it’s important to be on the lookout for new ideas, said Wohltmann. Because most people don’t travel enough—or are unable to travel to see every innovation across the globe—the NACS global program brings together people from around the world to learn about retail in other markets.

Sessions from day one focused on the state of convenience in the Asia-Pacific region, which has over 26 million retail stores, according to Eelco Modderman, managing director, global customer organization for APAC for NIQ. Of those stores, 11 million are in India alone, he said, many of which may not be technically defined as convenience stores, but they certainly operate as convenience stores.

Meanwhile, 10% of sales in China are through TikTok. The growing phenomenon of “social commerce” was an ongoing theme in presentations. Increasingly, search engines have evolved into not just answering questions but solving problems. And solving problems now means giving consumers a seamless way to go straight from search to shopping.

In the U.S., QR codes have become much more common for ordering and paying at many restaurants, but in Asia they are common for payments in small stores throughout the continent.

Meanwhile, the challenge in Japan is an economy that has stagnated. A continuing concern for retailers is “a decrease in the number of stomachs and in the size of stomachs”—in other words, a declining population and an increase in an aging population that generally tends to eat less, said Hidehiko Miyamoto, senior manager with Coca-Cola Japan. The problem will continue to intensify: By the year 2030, one in three people in Japan will be age 60 or older, and one in five will be 75 or older.

NACS Convenience Summit Asia is taking place this week from February 25-27 in Tokyo. The Summit will continue this week with store tours focused on retail innovation both in convenience as well as other channels including grocery, vending and both quick-serve and upscale food in Tokyo, which has redefined convenience around exceptional operational efficiencies that allow fresh food to be delivered multiple times per day.