CU "Closing Bars at Night... Convenience Store Alcohol and Snacks Sales Soar"

A customer is purchasing ready-to-eat food at a CU store in Seoul. (Photo by CU)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Despite the ban on late-night consumption of ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores, sales surged as packaged purchases increased.

CU announced on the 7th that an analysis of sales of major products during late-night hours from 10 PM to 2 AM over the past week (August 30 to September 5), when social distancing was raised to level 2.5, showed that sales of ready-to-eat foods such as fried chicken rose 37.2% compared to the previous month, marking the highest growth rate among all products.

By region, the sales growth rate of ready-to-eat foods in Seoul and the metropolitan area was 38.2%, slightly higher than the 31.6% seen in other provinces.

With quarantine authorities banning in-store and outdoor consumption at convenience stores in Seoul and the metropolitan area from 9 PM to 5 AM, the reason for such a significant increase in sales of these products is that as pubs and restaurants close late at night, demand for purchasing food at convenience stores to eat at home has sharply increased.

In fact, most customers usually purchase ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores for takeout rather than eating inside the store, and recently, with 24-hour delivery services from convenience stores allowing easy purchase without face-to-face contact, these stores have served as an alternative late-night purchasing option.

Simple late-night snack menus were also very popular. Cooked noodles (pasta, kongguksu, stir-fried noodles, etc.) increased by 36.9%, refrigerated ready meals (pizza, tteokbokki, sujebi, etc.) by 29.6%, porridge and soups by 28.2%, and frozen dumplings by 26.9%. These ready-to-eat items, which are relatively lighter than rice-based meals, sold more than usual.

Among snacks, popcorn showed the highest growth rate at 24.9%, followed by cookies at 19.1%, general snacks at 16.6%, and jelly products at 10.9%. This is attributed to people refraining from going out and increasingly watching OTT services like Netflix or VOD instead of going to theaters.

Alcoholic beverages, which see a surge in demand late at night, recorded high sales growth rates in the order of whiskey at 22.2%, soju at 14.9%, wine at 14.2%, and beer at 9.5%. Along with this, sales of refrigerated side dishes with high paired purchase rates rose by 29.0%, processed meat products by 21.7%, and dried snacks by 19.7%.

On the other hand, some products saw decreased sales due to reduced late-night foot traffic.

Cup noodles, which had a relatively high proportion of in-store consumption compared to other products, saw an 11.7% decrease in sales, and small kimchi also dropped by 5.6%. Hangover relief drinks, mainly consumed after drinking, fell by 37.7%, and ice cream sales decreased by 21.4%.

Jung Seungwook, head of MD Planning Team at BGF Retail, said, “With strengthened quarantine rules, lifestyles during late-night hours are changing mainly in Seoul and the metropolitan area, and customer purchasing patterns at convenience stores are also changing. CU will actively cooperate with quarantine authorities and do its best to enhance convenience for customers whose late-night consumption activities are restricted during the level 2.5 period.”

Meanwhile, CU plans to hold a discount event offering up to 33% off on various categories throughout September for consumers who frequently seek late-night snacks, and starting this week, will continuously release differentiated products such as the popular menu set ‘Ssangssangbal Jokbal & Dakbal (6,000 won).’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.