"It's Only October, and They're Already Buying?" Sales Soar 18-Fold... Flying Off Shelves at Convenience Stores [How We Shop Today]

Demand Surges for Everything from Cold-Weather Essentials to Fish Cakes and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Capturing Early Demand... Steamed Buns Launch a Week Earlier

Editor's NoteWhat are people buying these days? From household essentials picked up at Daiso and cosmetics that sell out at Olive Young to bread people line up to buy, familiar shopping scenes reflect the market trends of the moment. “How We Shop Today” is a series that explores today's consumer trends through the products flying off the shelves in our daily lives. It takes an in-depth look at changes on the retail front: which products consumers choose and what strategies persuade them to open their wallets.

A convenience store in Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

A sudden cold snap has sent convenience stores' winter sales season into high gear much earlier than usual. Winter staples have already claimed their spots on shelves, from hand warmers and fleece-lined tights to fish cakes, roasted sweet potatoes and steamed buns. With limited floor space, convenience stores are among the most responsive retailers to trends and seasonal shifts. They are introducing their winter product lineups one week to as much as a month earlier than usual, racing to gain an early lead in the winter sales season.

Sales Soar 18-Fold... Hand Warmers, Fish Cakes, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brewed Coffee Fly Off Shelves

According to the retail industry on October 15, sales of winter warmers and hot foods at the four major convenience store chains (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven and E-Mart24) all surged from October 1 to 7 compared with the previous week. The increase came as consumers responded to the cold weather by immediately preparing for the drop in temperatures.

Winter warmers designed to help retain body heat saw the steepest increases. In particular, sales of hand warmers at 7-Eleven surged 18-fold, or 1,700%, from the previous week. At GS25, sales in the hand warmer and pocket warmer categories rose 1,033.7%, while sales of thermal tights jumped 1,072.7%. Hand warmer sales at CU and E-Mart24 also climbed sharply, by 400.3% and 325%, respectively.

Hand warmers are displayed at a convenience store in Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

Sales of ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores, which offer alternatives to popular winter street snacks, also soared. At GS25, sales of ready-to-eat fish cakes and roasted sweet potatoes rose 653.3% and 132%, respectively. At 7-Eleven, sales of fish cakes increased 168% and roasted sweet potatoes 86%, while roasted sweet potato sales at E-Mart24 jumped 210%. CU also saw broad-based sales of hot breads (133.2%), ready-to-eat fish cakes (69.8%) and roasted sweet potatoes (56.1%), among other warm snacks.

More customers also turned to hot brewed coffee. Sales of hot Americanos from CU's Get Coffee rose 59.2% from the previous week. Hot coffee sales at 7-Eleven's Seven Cafe increased 45%, ready-to-drink hot coffee at E-Mart24 rose 39%, and hot Americanos at GS25's Cafe25 gained 36.6%. Sales of hot brewed coffee across these major brands rose by around 40% to 60%.

A Month Ahead... Convenience Stores' Survival Strategy: Bringing Out Steamed Buns and Roasted Sweet Potatoes Early

With demand surging early in the season, convenience store chains have opted to get ahead of the competition, bringing forward the distribution and in-store placement of winter products by a considerable margin compared with previous years. For seasonal products, securing an early lead in the market is a key factor that can determine overall winter sales performance.

GS25 began selling steamed buns on October 10, about a week earlier than usual. It plans to roll out a series of new products, including its own differentiated steamed buns, through the end of October. CU and 7-Eleven also began operating in-store steamed bun warmers and completed product deliveries on October 6 and 7, respectively, about a week earlier than last year.

Fish cakes on sale at GS25, operated by GS Retail. GS Retail

Roasted sweet potatoes and fish cakes made an even earlier appearance. 7-Eleven began selling roasted sweet potatoes and fish cakes on September 14, eight days earlier than last year. E-Mart24 fully stocked its roasted sweet potato displays starting September 19, nearly a month earlier than usual.

Convenience stores are also moving quickly to set up displays for winter clothing and accessories. CU has set up a dedicated winter goods section at the front of its stores, featuring hand warmers, tights and stockings. 7-Eleven began selling fleece-lined tights, knit socks, gloves, earmuffs and other items on October 7, five days earlier than last year. In addition to the winter accessories lineup it began offering in September, E-Mart24 plans to add lightweight padded jackets, touchscreen gloves and foldable earmuffs in October, expanding its range of winter warmers to a total of 20 items.

Limited Shelf Space... Early Demand Will Determine Winter Sales

Experts interpret convenience stores' strategy of moving seasonal products to the front of the lineup early as an essential reallocation of space and timing to overcome the limitations of neighborhood retail networks. Unlike hypermarkets and department stores, convenience stores have limited floor space. As soon as they detect signs of changing temperatures, they need to quickly remove off-season products and switch to high-efficiency winter goods to maximize average spending per store visit and operational efficiency.

Another major factor behind the early rollout is that, amid high prices, demand for late-night meals and snacks is shifting to convenience stores' ready-to-eat counters as street food stalls decline.

"The key to capturing early demand for winter warmers is to anticipate consumers' purchasing patterns in response to temperature changes and rearrange displays ahead of time," an industry official said. "As we approach the peak of the cold season, maintaining a stable supply of signature winter products will be a decisive factor in the retail industry's fourth-quarter performance this year."

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