Convenience Stores Dominated by Corona 'Homsuljok'... Top 5 Convenience Stores of 2020

Big 4 Convenience Stores' '2020 Top 5 Items'
'Cass' Rankings Rise Across the Board... Alcoholic Beverages Strong
Sales Increase for Drinking Alone Instead of Company Dinners and Gatherings
PB Coffee and Ice Cups Secure Unshakable 1st and 2nd Places
Popularity of Convenience Stores Rises Due to Coffee Shop Restrictions

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of 'home drinking' consumers has significantly increased, leading 'Chamisul' and 'Cass' to rank side by side among the top 5 popular convenience store items.

Soju and Beer in the Top 5 Convenience Store Favorites

According to the four major convenience store chains on the 15th, soju and beer were included in the '2020 Top 5 Bestselling Items,' showing strong performance in alcoholic beverages. Soju's 'Chamisul Fresh' and beer's 'Cass Fresh' secured the undisputed number one spots.

At GS25, Chamisul and Cass ranked 4th and 5th respectively among the best-selling products. At CU and 7-Eleven, Chamisul was 3rd and Cass was 4th. However, at Emart24, Chamisul, which was 4th last year, fell out of the rankings this year, while Cass, which was 9th last year, rose to 6th place.

Until now, beer has been a popular convenience store item but did not make it into the top 5 in sales. This year, with 'home drinking' becoming the trend as people enjoy alcohol at home instead of gatherings or company dinners, alcohol sales have increased significantly. Besides soju and beer, sales of wine, traditional liquor, and western liquor also saw slight increases. In the case of wine, aggressive marketing by convenience stores and the fact that it is relatively low in alcohol content and easy to enjoy at home contributed to increased sales. The wine shop operated by CU saw sales increase nearly eightfold within six months of its launch.

Items Frequently Purchased by Office Workers and Students Declined

As remote work expanded and schools and academies repeatedly closed or suspended classes, some items that were previously in the 'Top 5' rankings dropped. A representative example is 'Bacchus F (120ml),' which fell by 1 to 2 ranks across all convenience stores. Bacchus was mainly consumed in office districts.

Products consumed by students around schools and academies also saw a decline in rankings. For example, 'Banana Milk' dropped from 6th to 7th place at GS25 and fell out of the top 5 at 7-Eleven, moving from 4th place last year.

The products that maintained the 1st and 2nd sales positions across the four convenience store chains were all their own private brand (PB) items: coffee beverages and cup ice. Especially this year, due to restrictions on using cafe seating caused by the COVID-19 situation, more customers turned to convenience store coffee. This trend further solidified the sales rankings of these products.

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