"Things to Buy at Large Marts, Not Buying from Alley Markets Due to Holidays"

Embrain '2024 Large Mart Mandatory Closure Awareness Survey'
High Awareness of Mandatory Closure System... Opinions Divided on the System Itself

As the issue of mandatory closure days for large supermarkets continues to be a hot topic, a survey found that while citizens generally agree with shifting mandatory closure days to weekdays, they remain skeptical about the effectiveness of such mandatory regulations.

On the 2nd, market research firm Embrain Trend Monitor announced that it recently conducted the "2024 Large Supermarket Mandatory Closure Awareness Survey" targeting 1,000 men and women aged 19 to 59 living in the metropolitan area who had visited large supermarkets within the last 3 to 4 months. The mandatory closure system for large supermarkets is a social policy that has been in place for over 10 years since March 2012 under the "Distribution Industry Development Act." It allows local governments to restrict large supermarkets and corporate supermarkets (SSMs) from operating from midnight to 10 a.m. and mandates two closure days per month.

The majority of respondents (96.0%) were aware of the mandatory closure system for large supermarkets. Additionally, 81.7% reported having experienced visiting a store on a mandatory closure day but being unable to shop. In such situations, respondents mainly used nearby discount marts (55.4%) or simply returned home (49.6%). The use of small-scale stores showed a tendency to increase with age: ▲20s (52.8%) ▲30s (52.3%) ▲40s (58.7%) ▲50s (58.1%). As an alternative, online shopping was more prominent among younger age groups: ▲20s (37.7%) ▲30s (41.6%) ▲40s (32.8%) ▲50s (20.7%).

Now that 10 years have passed since the introduction of mandatory closure days, consumers' shopping patterns have changed compared to the past. The percentage of respondents who shopped in advance the day before a large supermarket's closure increased from 39.6% in 2013 to 54.5% in 2024, and the share of online shopping more than doubled from 15.4% in 2013 to 46.8% in 2024. Furthermore, across the overall consumer market, online shopping (82.2%) showed the largest increase, while the use of nearby small stores or supermarkets decreased from 68.2% in 2013 to 48.4% in 2024. Although the mandatory closure system was implemented to revitalize traditional markets and protect neighborhood commercial districts, its effect appears minimal due to the rapid growth of online distribution channels. In fact, 6 out of 10 respondents (62.5%) said that regulations on large supermarkets and corporate supermarkets do not help achieve the original purpose, and only 26.2% believed the policy aids in revitalizing traditional markets.

Consumers Prioritizing 'Convenience'... 61.5% Support Shifting Mandatory Closure Days to Weekdays

Respondents pointed out that the significance of mandatory closures for large supermarkets is fading. With a high level of social interest?78.5% of respondents were aware of the policy?61.5% supported the policy's introduction. The main reasons for support were: ▲improving convenience for consumers who shop on weekends (72.7%), ▲lack of effectiveness in revitalizing traditional markets and other regulations (59.7%), and ▲the need to ease regulations in line with changes in shopping patterns such as online shopping (35.4%).

Despite 10 years passing, criticisms that the regulation on large supermarket operations has not shown clear effects continue, and easing regulations to alleviate consumer inconvenience is seen as a more reasonable alternative. Among all respondents, 65.6% expressed optimism that they would be able to use large supermarkets without inconvenience on future public holidays, and 60.3% believed that easing regulations would greatly enhance shopping convenience.

Debate Continues Over the Mandatory Closure System Itself

While respondents highly valued the necessity of shifting closure days to weekdays, they also showed resistance to the closure regulation itself. Among all respondents, 42.4% stated that even if regulations on large supermarkets and corporate supermarkets are eased, the weekday mandatory closure system should be maintained. Meanwhile, 44.7% believed that the regulation itself should be completely abolished.

The detailed reasons for opposing the shift to weekday mandatory closures included ▲ensuring holidays for large supermarket workers (73.7%) and ▲the policy only benefiting large supermarkets' profits (46.9%). Additionally, 55.5% predicted that changing the closure day to weekdays would not significantly affect store visits, revealing a coexistence of hope and concern among the public regarding the mandatory closure system.

When asked about lifting operational regulations, especially among respondents who frequently shop online, 55.8% said that lifting regulations would not have much impact because they usually shop online, and 65.2% answered that even if regulations were eased, they would still prefer online shopping over offline stores. This indicates that simply maintaining or abolishing mandatory closure regulations is insufficient to secure competitiveness for large supermarkets or revitalize surrounding commercial districts.

The reasons for visiting offline stores included ▲wanting to check products directly before purchasing (49.8%), ▲proximity to home (38.7%), and ▲convenience of direct purchase (32.2%). Given these reasons, there is a growing call for careful strategies that leverage the unique characteristics and advantages of offline stores.

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