Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
Convenience stores see first-ever quarterly sales decline amid weak consumer sentiment
A clerk organizes shelves at a CU convenience store in Seoul, April 8. Yonhap
By Lee Yeon-woo
Convenience stores posted a quarterly decline in sales for the first time, government data showed Tuesday. Analysts attribute the decline to market saturation — with nearly 55,000 stores nationwide — coupled with weakening consumer sentiment.
According to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, sales at convenience stores in the first quarter of 2025 declined by 0.4 percent compared to the same period last year. This marks the first quarterly contraction since record-keeping began in 2013.
The main factor behind the decline is market saturation. Last year, the total number of stores operated by Korea's four major convenience store chains — CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and Emart24 — dropped to 54,835, marking the first decline since the industry’s inception in 1988. Nevertheless, there remains roughly one store for every 1,000 people.
Sluggish domestic demand also contributed to the downturn. The Bank of Korea's data showed that the consumer confidence index fell to 93.8 in April, remaining below the long-term average of 100 for the fifth consecutive month.
The rise of other retail formats has further undercut convenience store growth. Once a key channel aligned with the shift toward smaller households, convenience stores are now facing stiff competition from other offline retailers, such as Daiso and CJ Olive Young.
E-commerce platforms are increasingly capturing convenience stores' core customer base as well.
"Considering that convenience stores have historically shown steady growth and are less affected by holiday seasonality, the latest figures carry significant weight," said IBK Securities analyst Nam Sung-hyun. "They may indicate that the industry is entering a period of constrained growth, warranting further attention."