Looking at Card Sales Before and After Holidays... Side Dishes from Banchan Shops, Gifts Are Contactless

Increasing Trend in Usage of Holiday Side Dish Specialty Stores Among People Aged 50 and Over

On the 29th, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, merchants are busy working at Gwangjang Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] An analysis of card sales data around the Lunar New Year holiday period revealed that the number of transactions at side dish specialty stores and the use of non-face-to-face gifts have been increasing significantly every year.

According to Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute on the 4th, the number of transactions at side dish specialty stores has shown an increasing trend every year as of the day before the holiday. In 2020, the Lunar New Year increased by 12.5%, Chuseok by 15.9%, and this year’s Lunar New Year by 21.9%.

During last year’s Lunar New Year (4.5%) and Chuseok (2.2%), when strengthened social distancing measures due to COVID-19 were in place, the growth slowed somewhat, but excluding these exceptional periods, the growth rate was in the double digits.

The age groups using side dish specialty stores are also changing. For the 2019 Lunar New Year, 20s accounted for 23.3%, 30s 23.7%, 40s 24.5%, 50s 19.0%, and 60 and above 9.5%, showing a relatively higher proportion of younger users. However, this year’s Lunar New Year saw 20s at 10.9%, 30s 20.8%, 40s 26.6%, 50s 26.0%, and 60 and above 15.7%, with those aged 50 and above making up 41.7%.

However, differences were observed in the average payment amount per transaction. As of the day before this year’s Lunar New Year, the average spending per transaction at side dish specialty stores was between 56,000 and 77,000 KRW for those in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, but 40,000 KRW for those in their 50s, and 39,000 KRW for those 60 and above, both below the average of 54,000 KRW.

A representative from Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute said, "People in their 20s to 40s tend to purchase a variety of holiday foods, resulting in higher spending per transaction, whereas those aged 50 and above still prefer to prepare food at home themselves and tend to buy fewer items, focusing on dishes that require more effort to make."

The trend toward non-face-to-face gifting during holidays is also clearly evident. Based on Shinhan Card transaction counts during the five days before Lunar New Year, in 2019, the proportions were 39.1% for 20s, 32.4% for 30s, 22.0% for 40s, 5.7% for 50s, and 0.8% for 60 and above. This year, the figures changed to 27.2%, 29.1%, 28.5%, 12.8%, and 2.4%, respectively, with the share of users aged 50 and above increasing by 8.7 percentage points.

Also, comparing the proportions of gift certificate-type non-face-to-face gift transactions between the 2019 and this year’s Lunar New Year, the 5,000 KRW and 10,000 KRW denominations rose from 13.1% to 13.7%, the 20,000 KRW denomination fell from 22.1% to 16.7%, the 30,000 KRW denomination increased from 24.5% to 28.4%, the 40,000?50,000 KRW denominations rose from 19.8% to 23.7%, and the 60,000?100,000 KRW denominations decreased from 20.5% to 17.5%. The increase in the 30,000?50,000 KRW range and decrease in the 60,000?100,000 KRW range suggest a preference for reasonable gift amounts that are not excessive.

The top purchase amount by age group also supports this inference. Comparing the 2019 and this year’s Lunar New Year, those in their 20s favored the 20,000 KRW denomination (39.0% in 2019, 35.7% in 2022), 30s preferred the 30,000 KRW denomination (27.2%, 30.8%), and those 60 and above chose the 100,000 KRW denomination (36.0%, 31.4%). However, the 40s shifted from the 100,000 KRW denomination (27.0%) to the 30,000 KRW denomination (30.5%), and the 50s also changed from the 100,000 KRW denomination (37.6%) to the 30,000 KRW denomination (28.4%).

The Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute stated, "It appears that while preserving our traditions, people are increasingly relying on professional services when necessary to reduce effort, and are exchanging gifts in a simple and reasonable way without excess during the holidays."

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