FamilyMart wants shoppers to do laundry, too

TOKYO -- FamilyMart will install self-service laundries on the premises of its convenience stores, the latest in efforts to spur customer traffic.

While convenience stores are struggling to draw in shoppers industrywide, more people are turning to self-service laundries, whose number has surged more than 30% over the past decade to an estimated 18,000 across Japan.