SEOUL: North Americans have become the fastest-growing foreign customer base at GS25, the South Korean convenience store chain operated by GS Retail, trailing just behind the dominant customer base of people from Greater China.
According to company data released last week, sales to North American customers at GS25 stores in South Korea jumped 131% in the first eight months of the year from a year earlier, the steepest rise among all regional groups.
Their share of foreign customer sales hit a record of about 30%, narrowing the gap with Greater China shoppers, who still lead at roughly 40%, to just 10 percentage points.
“Foreign tourist spending is moving away from a concentration in specific countries and regions and expanding across a wider range of nationalities and areas,” said a company official.
Shopping habits set the two groups clearly apart.
North Americans favour canned beer, wine and spirits, along with sports drinks, energy drinks and sodas, outspending every other foreign group on canned beer.
Greater China customers lean towards dairy, noodles and baked goods, with blueberry Greek yogurt overtaking banana milk as their top seller.
By region, North Americans made their biggest inroads in Gangwon Province, where their sales soared 338% this year, concentrated along the beach-lined east coast.
Customers from Greater China gravitate towards tourist hubs and downtown shopping districts in Jeju Island, Seoul and Busan.
GS25 plans to tailor its stores, products and marketing to regions drawing a growing wave of new foreign customers, such as North Americans.
This year, about 1,000 stores frequented by foreign visitors rolled out English-language promotions along with recipes and serving tips.
“We will continue to analyse foreign customers’ spending data closely and refine our services to fit each store and product,” the company official noted, adding that GS25 aims to become South Korea’s go-to K-convenience store for foreign visitors. — The Korea Herald/ANN
