Starbucks' Sales Slump Reverses: Surprise Comeback Against Twosome Place as Card Payments Rebound

Gap with Twosome Place Narrows from 7 Billion Won to 1.9 Billion Won
Rebound Seen, but Down 15.9% Year-Over-Year

Starbucks, which had slowed down following the "Tank Day" controversy, is showing signs of recovery. The estimated value of payments made with credit and debit cards increased for the second consecutive month, significantly narrowing its gap with Twosome Place in just one month.

On September 4th, mobileindex by AI data company IGAWorks announced that Starbucks' estimated credit/debit card payments in August reached KRW 116.12 billion. This figure represents a 5.5% increase compared to KRW 110.06 billion in July. Starbucks' card payment amount fell to KRW 100.39 billion in June, but rebounded with a 9.6% increase in July, followed by continued growth in August.

In August, Twosome Place recorded estimated payments of KRW 117.99 billion, surpassing Starbucks by about KRW 1.9 billion. While Twosome Place has stayed ahead of Starbucks for four consecutive months since May, the lead between the two brands is narrowing rapidly. In July, Twosome Place was ahead of Starbucks by approximately KRW 7 billion, but the difference shrank by about KRW 5.1 billion in just one month.

A Starbucks store in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The main reasons for Starbucks' rebound are cited as the renewed focus on launching new products and enhancing customer benefits. After suspending summer product launches and promotions following the "Tank Day" marketing controversy in May, Starbucks began resuming related events sequentially from July. The resumption of coupon promotions and new product launches aimed at summer customers is believed to have contributed to the recovery in payment amounts.

However, some analysts point out that it is premature to call this a full recovery, as the level is still lower compared to the same period last year. In August, Starbucks' total payments were 15.9% less than KRW 138.05 billion posted in the same month last year. In contrast, Twosome Place saw a 7.6% increase, from KRW 109.71 billion in August last year to KRW 117.99 billion this year. Although Starbucks has narrowed the gap with Twosome Place, considering the competitor's growth, it is too soon to say Starbucks has reclaimed market leadership.

It is also important to note that the current figures are estimates based on credit and debit card payment data, not actual sales. Since Starbucks has a high proportion of payments made using its own prepaid cards and mobile gift certificates, relying on card payment amounts alone has limitations in precisely gauging total sales or the extent of customer loss or return.

Meanwhile, Mega MGC Coffee, trailing Starbucks and Twosome Place, saw its payment amount decrease by 0.3% from the previous month to KRW 97.87 billion. Paik's Coffee maintained a similar level at KRW 24.51 billion.

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