Ice Cream Prices Drop Up to 60%... Convenience Stores Wage Ultra-Low Price Discount War

Catching Demand Ahead of the Heatwave
CU Offers 60% Discount on Over 40 Items
Emart24 Provides Buy 1 Get 1 Free and More

A customer is purchasing ice cream at the convenience store CU.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As grocery prices soar recently, convenience store chains have entered a price competition for ice cream. With the intense heatwave approaching, they plan to capture demand heading to unmanned ice cream stores by significantly increasing promotional giveaways and the number of discounted items.

According to CU on the 21st, ice cream sales from the 1st to the 19th of this month increased by 29.1% compared to the same period last month. During the same period, GS25 saw a 44.9% increase, 7-Eleven 20%, and Emart24 15%. By commercial district, CU recorded sales increases of 66.7% in tourist areas, 22.1% in office districts, and 14.0% in residential areas. GS25 showed increases of 169.6% in tourist areas, 118.2% in roadside locations, 54.7% near subway stations, 46.6% in office districts, and 39.2% in residential areas. At Emart24, tube- and pouch-type ice creams had higher sales shares in academy districts, bar- and cone-type ice creams in office districts, and bulk-type ice creams in residential areas.

CU is offering up to 60% discounts on about 40 popular ice cream varieties. More than 20 bar-type ice creams are sold at 500 won each when purchasing five or more, and they have also launched two ultra-low-priced ice creams, Namango and Nachoco, priced at 400 won each. GS25 offers a 50% discount on over 56 ice cream varieties when buying five or more. 7-Eleven has discounted about 20 varieties by 30-58%, and Emart24 is running buy-one-get-one (1+1), buy-two-get-one (2+1) promotions and price discounts on about 100 varieties.

With convenience stores launching large-scale discounts, they are not significantly losing price competitiveness against unmanned ice cream stores. According to the industry, the number of unmanned ice cream stores surged from about 880 in 2017 to over 4,000 last year. These stores sell bar- and tube-type ice creams for 300 to 500 won each. A convenience store industry official said, "In the face of this year's rapid price increases, we planned discount events for ice cream, whose demand surges in summer," adding, "We plan to continue ultra-low-price marketing seasonally going forward."

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