"Cheers!" No Longer Common Among People in Their 20s... Young Adults Are Spending Money Elsewhere

Significant Drop in Regular Bar Visits Among Young People Over the Past Three Years
Shift from Drinking to Health and Hobbies... Personalized Consumption on the Rise

The number of consumers in their 20s visiting regular bars during the first half of this year has significantly decreased compared to three years ago. There has also been a noticeable drop in late-night drinking gatherings. An increasing number of young people are choosing to spend money on health and hobbies instead of alcohol.

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Sharp Decline in Bar Visits Among People in Their 20s... Fewer Late-Night Drinking Sessions

According to the consumption trend report "NH Trend+" released by NH Nonghyup Bank on September 9, an analysis of 127 million payment transactions from 7.38 million individual credit card customers found that the number of visits to regular bars in the first half of this year dropped by 34% compared to the first half of 2023. Spending during the same period also fell by 30%.

This change was especially pronounced among younger age groups. Using the number of visits in the first half of 2023 as an index of 100, people in their 20s fell to 48 in the first half of this year. Those in their 30s decreased to 65, people in their 40s fell to 60, and those in their 50s dropped to 76. In contrast, people aged 60 and above increased to 109.

The share of people in their 20s among all regular bar customers fell from 34% in 2023 to 25% this year, a decline of 9 percentage points. Meanwhile, the share of those aged 60 and above rose from 12% to 19%, an increase of 7 percentage points over the same period.

The pace at which people are wrapping up drinking sessions has also accelerated. The number of weekday evening regular bar visits dropped across all time slots compared to 2023, with the decline becoming more pronounced later in the evening. In other words, fewer people are drinking late into the night. The decrease was just 29% from 6–7 p.m., but expanded to 35% from 9–10 p.m., and 40% from 11 p.m. to midnight. From midnight to 1 a.m., the decrease reached 42%, and after 1 a.m., it was 43%. This indicates that the longstanding custom of continuing drinking parties into second and third rounds is fading quickly.

Arcades and toy stores are gaining great popularity, especially among young people. The photo is not directly related to the specific content of the article.

Greater Interest in Swimming Pools and Billiard Halls... Arcades and Toy Stores Also Popular

While alcohol-related consumption is declining, spending related to health and hobbies is on the rise. Taking the number of payment transactions in the first half of 2023 as an index of 100, the swimming pool index rose to 159 in the first half of this year, and sports center transactions increased to 125. Billiard halls also rose to 116. Bowling alleys, on the other hand, declined to 63. Golf courses and driving ranges both remained at 85.

Karaoke rooms and arcades/game rooms continue to see strong demand from people in their 20s. This age group accounted for 58% of karaoke room usage, 57% of arcade/game room visits, and 50% of toy store customers in the first half of this year—all figures representing over half of the total usage for each category.

The popularity of arcades and toy stores is particularly aligned with the "small luxury" spending pattern among younger generations, where they find pleasure at a low cost. This trend highlights a noticeable shift toward enjoying affordable entertainment that fits personal preferences, rather than spending large amounts of money.

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