"Come Grocery Shopping at Convenience Stores"... Expecting a 'National Support Fund Boost'

Convenience Stores, Promotional Material Attachment... Active Marketing
Olive Young, Not Usable in Directly Managed Stores
Daiso, Usable Only in Local Franchise Stores

On the 6th, when the application process for the 'COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund' began, a notice regarding the use of the support fund was posted at an Emart24 convenience store in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the application process for the COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund began on the 6th, attention is focusing on where it can be used. Although department stores, large supermarkets, and online malls are excluded from the usage locations of the National Support Fund, it can be used at convenience stores, raising expectations for a special demand in the industry.

Convenience stores are already actively marketing by attaching promotional materials to each store indicating that the National Support Fund can be used there. CU plans to absorb shopping demand from large supermarkets by receiving mobile orders for bulk daily necessities and delivering them. They also plan to capture gift demand by promoting that gift sets similar to those sold at large supermarkets or department stores can also be purchased at convenience stores.

GS25 is formulating marketing strategies considering that during the government emergency disaster relief fund distribution to the entire nation last year, sales of high-priced items that are usually less frequently purchased at convenience stores, such as meat products like beef, Bluetooth earphones, and liquor, increased significantly. Especially with Chuseok approaching, they plan to encourage the use of the National Support Fund for purchasing gift sets. The range of electronic products such as Apple AirPods Pro and Samsung Electronics QLED TVs has been expanded from 60 types last year to about 90 types this year.

Emart24 has increased the number of discounted items this month by about 200 compared to the same month last year. In particular, they have increased the number of daily necessities and convenience food items on sale by more than 30% to capture shopping demand. From the 13th, Emart24 will also hold a prize event where customers who spend a cumulative amount of 250,000 won or more, which is the amount of the National Support Fund, within a month will receive gift certificates worth up to 2.5 million won as a 'reward.' Additionally, premium fruit products such as Shine Muscat grapes, musk melons, and apple mangoes, which are usually not well stocked at convenience stores, will be sold temporarily at stores nationwide.

Whether the National Support Fund can be used at franchises like Olive Young and Daiso depends on whether the store is directly managed or a franchise. Olive Young cannot be used at directly managed stores but can be used only at franchise stores located in local governments that issue local love gift certificates. The number of Olive Young franchise stores accounts for about 20% of the total.

Daiso does not allow usage at directly managed stores and franchise stores located in the metropolitan area. However, it can be used at franchise stores outside the metropolitan area that are located in local governments issuing local love gift certificates. A Daiso official said, “It is better for consumers to call the store they plan to visit in advance to check whether the National Support Fund can be used.”

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