In Chilly Weather... Seven Eleven Sees Increased Sales of Hot Coffee and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As the chilly weather continues in the mornings and evenings, the focus of convenience store main products is rapidly shifting.

According to 7-Eleven on the 8th, sales of winter products such as coffee, roasted sweet potatoes, and lip care are rapidly increasing, while sales of representative summer products like sports drinks, ice cream, and beer are declining, indicating that the convenience store season change is in full swing.

Analyzing the sales status of major products from the 5th to the 7th, when the daily minimum temperature began to drop below 10 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous week (September 28-30), 7-Eleven reported that sales of ‘7-Cafe HOT’ increased by 40.5%. In September, the sales ratio between ‘7-Cafe ICE’ and ‘HOT’ was 52 to 48, but this week it shifted to 31 to 69, showing an absolute dominance of ‘7-Cafe HOT’.

Sales of convenience store ‘roasted sweet potatoes’ also rose by 25.6% during the same period. 7-Eleven first introduced ‘roasted sweet potatoes’ in 2016, and it has become popular not only as a snack but also as a meal replacement for dieters, surpassing steamed buns to become the representative winter snack at convenience stores. In fact, during last winter (December 2019 to February 2020), roasted sweet potatoes accounted for 70% of sales compared to 30% for steamed buns. Currently, 7-Eleven sells roasted sweet potatoes at over 2,500 stores nationwide.

In addition, one-cup products mixed with hot water increased significantly by 49.3%, soy milk by 18.9%, and coffee and tea sales rose by 27.6%. With the full launch of winter season products such as tights and leggings, stocking sales increased by 57.1%, and lip care products rose by 57.0%. Sales of over-the-counter medicines also increased by 10.1%, with cold medicine sales rising by 53.5% due to an increase in people showing cold symptoms during the seasonal change.

The fact that convenience store winter products are all rising simultaneously shows how closely weather is related to people’s lifestyle patterns and how quickly it affects consumer sentiment. In fact, the average minimum temperature in Seoul from the 5th to the 7th of this month was 9.2 degrees Celsius, which is 6.5 degrees lower than the previous week (September 28-30).

A 7-Eleven official said, “As the minimum temperature has recently dropped significantly, sales of warm beverages and winter products are increasing,” adding, “Since colder weather than usual is expected to continue, the strong sales of these products are likely to continue from now on.”

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