Convenience Stores Increasing Specialized Wine Sections Amid Home Drinking Boom
CU to Expand to 5,000 Stores Within the Year
Emart24 Surpasses Half of All Stores
Mobile App Ordering Service Gains Popularity
GS25 Smart Order Up 801.5%
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Convenience stores are aggressively expanding liquor specialty stores centered on wine. The popularity of "home drinking" has driven the demand for wine, but online sales are prohibited. CU, GS25, Seven Eleven, and Emart24 are strengthening mobile ordering services to compete with department stores and large supermarkets and to secure a leading position in the wine market.
On the 9th, CU announced that the number of wine specialty stores, which began opening last month, has increased to 1,400 locations. They plan to expand to 5,000 stores within the year. GS25 designated the Yeoksam Hongin branch in Seoul as the first Wine25 Plus flagship store in February, handling over 130 types of wine. On the 5th, they opened their second wine specialty store in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. GS25 plans to select wine specialty stores based on commercial district and sales data and expand to 2,000 stores within the year.
Seven Eleven also increased its wine specialty zones by about 1,200 this year alone. The premium convenience store model Food Dream has created wine & liquor specialty corners in about 290 stores. Additionally, over 2,500 regular stores have separate wine-only zones. Emart24 also expanded its liquor specialty stores by about 200, increasing the total to over 2,600 stores, which is more than half of all its locations. Regular stores usually carry 4 to 5 types of wine, but specialty stores sell dozens of varieties.
Convenience stores provide services where customers order wine through mobile apps and pick it up at their desired stores. They have turned the prohibition of online liquor sales into a new competitive advantage. CU’s wine shop sales last month increased 7.2 times compared to the previous year. GS25’s Wine25 Plus smart order usage increased by 801.5% since its introduction last month. At Seven Eleven, app wine reservation orders surged 120.6% compared to the early service period last month, and Emart24’s usage in the first quarter of this year increased by 26% compared to the same period last year.
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Since COVID-19, wine sales have continued explosive growth. CU’s wine sales in the first quarter of this year increased 2.5 times compared to the same period last year. During the same period, GS25’s sales surged 161.9%, and Seven Eleven’s sales rose 209.1%. Emart24 sold over 800,000 bottles in the first quarter alone, which is about half of last year’s total wine sales of 1.7 million bottles.
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