Teen Culture Changed by COVID-19... "Contactless SNS Verification of New Convenience Store Products"
Convenience Stores Reveal New Products on Instagram Before Launch... Teens "Also Track Arrival Times of New and Popular Items"
Expanded Reproduction Through YouTuber Reviews... Industry Competes to Secure Long-Term Loyal Customers
[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes to the play culture of teenagers. While the main fun used to be meeting face-to-face with friends after school at snack bars and buying treats while chatting, recently, a play culture has become common where teenagers share new convenience store products on social networking services (SNS), try them individually, and then post verification photos. Convenience store industries have recognized these characteristics of teenagers and are focusing on SNS-based new product introductions and marketing campaigns targeting them.
◆ New Products Revealed on Instagram a Day Before Release
According to the distribution industry on the 10th, CU, a convenience store operated by BGF Retail, releases new general products every Thursday. One or two days before the release, CU’s official Instagram account uploads content introducing the week’s new products titled 'Sneaking a Peek at the MD’s Desktop.' Teenagers quickly check this and head to nearby convenience stores every Thursday. If the product has not been ordered at the store or is already sold out, they do not hesitate to visit other nearby CUs, engaging in what they call a 'convenience store tour.'
It is also characteristic that after tasting the hard-to-get new products, they post verification photos on their SNS. Through this, teenagers gain pride as early adopters who have tasted new products faster than their friends and enjoy the fun of evaluating them before they become famous. Sharing tips on how to obtain new products is also an interesting element. Compared to before COVID-19, when time spent mingling closely with friends has greatly decreased, this has become one of the main communication methods.
GS25 and Seven Eleven also introduce weekly new products through Instagram with series like 'Did You See 2? 5?' and 'New Product News.' Thanks to the enthusiastic response from teenagers, GS25’s 'Nostalgic Snack' series, which includes assorted sets, kimbap sets, tteokbokki, and salad, launched last month, became popular products within a month. The menu composition of snack items like tteokbokki and the retro concept packaging attracted teenagers’ attention and received great responses.
YouTube adds fun to this play culture. Simply typing 'convenience store' in YouTube search easily finds channels reviewing new products from each company. Some channels have up to 600,000 subscribers. Teenagers subscribe to these channels together, empathize with influencers’ evaluations of products they have already tasted, and try new products introduced through the channels.
◆ "Capture the Future Customers: Teenagers"
The industry is putting great effort into various marketing strategies to secure teenagers, who have relatively low purchasing power but frequent convenience store usage, as loyal customers in the mid to long term. CU has designated Friday as New Product Day, running promotions that sell popular new products at 50% discount, while continuously introducing idol goods, web novels, and web entertainment content that excite teenagers. Examples include transportation cards designed with the image of Bangdan Sonyeondan, which have sold out every year since their launch in 2017, the web novel Chingusai (7942) serialized on Instagram last year, and the web drama 'DanJjan DanJjan Yojeongsa.' Earlier this year, the participatory content platform Bangguseok Yeonguso’s '2021 Mukjalal Ability Test' content attracted over 394,000 participants, gaining great popularity.
GS25 is also strengthening YouTube entertainment content. By offering various content, they aim to increase visits to their channel and grow 'true fans' from teenage years. In January this year, GS25 changed its channel name to 'Irioneora,' focusing on creating a channel friendly to the MZ generation. Through this, they have introduced content such as 'I Picked Up 5 from Yongmyeong 2,' 'There’s a Convenience Store in Front of My House,' and 'Motbaewonnom.' Seven Eleven is also actively exposing 'crossover' products on SNS that reinvent items teenagers usually enjoy eating into other products to attract interest. Representative products include Kkotgerangmyeon, a collaboration with Kkotgerang snacks, and Chamkkae Ramyeon Time Snack, which reimagines sesame ramen as a snack.
An industry insider said, "Although the culture of teenagers sharing 'convenience store honey combination recipes' and mixing convenience store products to create new foods existed before, after experiencing COVID-19, new play cultures such as non-face-to-face verification of new products using SNS have spread, making convenience stores a playground for the MZ generation both online and offline. Although their purchasing power is weak, teenagers are important customers that cannot be ignored from a mid to long-term perspective, so the industry’s 'teen marketing' will be further strengthened."
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