Buying Groceries at a Convenience Store Is Cheaper Than at a Large Mart

Living for a Month Saved 50,000 Won
Buying Cost-Effective Daily Necessities... Choosing Small Packages Over Bulk
Less Waste of Ingredients

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[Photo by Getty Images Bank]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The rising prices of daily necessities have made household expenses tight. Even in the new year, it seems impossible to avoid having an empty bank account just from eating and drinking, so I decided to start by cutting down on living expenses. After seeing on online communities that many people with similar concerns found convenience stores to have more affordable items than large supermarkets, I tried living for a month by shopping at convenience stores and was able to save 50,000 won.

◆ Buying little by little, buying cheaper = It has been a month since I started living by shopping at convenience stores on the 14th. After carefully checking reviews of convenience store ultra-low-priced products bought with my own money (naedonnaesan) on online communities, I visited a nearby convenience store to buy cost-effective daily necessities. At CU, I purchased instant rice (6-pack, 5,940 won) 4 times, kimchi (1.9 kg, 8,900 won) twice, bagged ramen (5 packs, 1,900 won) twice, and eggs (15 pieces, 4,900 won) twice. At Emart24, I bought wet wipes (100 pieces) and toilet paper (30 rolls) once each. All of these were private brand (PB) products emphasizing 'lowest price online and offline' for each convenience store brand. The total amount spent at convenience stores over the month was 65,760 won.

Comparing this with a receipt from a large supermarket a month ago, I had spent 12,980 won on instant rice (12-pack), 3,680 won on bagged ramen (5 packs), 9,880 won on kimchi (900 g), 4,990 won on eggs (15 pieces), 970 won on wet wipes (100 pieces), and 10,000 won on toilet paper (30 rolls). Although I thought buying in bulk would be cheaper, when converted to the same quantity, the total was 95,984 won. Contrary to the idea that buying more is cheaper, for single-person households who want to buy less but cheaper, shopping at convenience stores is more suitable. This way, I was able to save at least 50,000 won on living expenses. It may seem insignificant, but it is enough to order two more chickens a month.

◆ No more worries about leftover food = According to a survey by the Seoul Digital Foundation, the average daily disposable product waste per single-person household is 30 items, which is 2.32 times more per person than multi-person households (13 items). This is because delivery services and ready meals are frequently used. It is also common to throw away perfectly good food in the refrigerator. When you have plans or are too lazy even to boil water, ordering delivery a few times leads to forgotten ingredients in the fridge eventually being discarded.

Shopping at convenience stores proved to be the closest and most convenient option for single-person households to buy small quantities of daily necessities. Considering delivery fees, online lowest prices are not much different from large supermarkets unless buying in bulk. Until a few years ago, convenience stores were perceived as more expensive than online or large supermarkets. However, the situation has changed as convenience stores have emphasized shopping every day of the year and introduced various PB products.

Convenience stores are competing with ultra-low-priced PB products targeting single-person households. CU has released the 'Deuktem Series' from the first to the fourth edition, receiving good responses. Heyroo Our Rice Rice ranked third in sales in the instant rice category last year. Kimchi Deuktem also recorded the highest sales among large-sized kimchi products over 900 g as of this month. Emart24 operates about 50 'MinSaeng Series' products. They are expanding from food items like ramen, seaweed, and soy milk to non-food items such as dish detergent, mouthwash, and toilet paper. Last year, the overall sales growth rate of the MinSaeng Series doubled compared to the previous year. MinSaeng ramen, roll toilet paper, wet wipes, and MinSaeng coffee each hold the top spot in their respective product categories and enjoy great popularity.

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