CU, Mobile Alcohol Reservation 'Popular'... Captured the 4050 Generation

Annual Growth Rate of 120%

A customer is purchasing alcoholic beverages at CU.
[Photo by BGF Retail]

Recently, sales have significantly increased as mobile liquor reservation and purchase services at convenience stores have become more active.

According to CU on the 26th, the sales of 'CU Bar' on the PocketCU application (app) have been growing at an average annual rate of 120%. Compared to 2020, when the service was launched, sales have increased 5.5 times. CU Bar is a service where customers can reserve and purchase desired products through the app and pick them up at a designated date and store. Currently, it offers over 1,200 products including beer, wine, and spirits, accepting reservations 24 hours a day.

The most sold liquor type at CU Bar is spirits, accounting for about half of total sales with a 46.1% share last year. This is followed by wine at 31.2%, beer at 18.5%, traditional liquor at 2.4%, and others (such as sake) at 1.8%. During a premium whiskey promotion, the highest-priced item, the 3.3 million KRW Tamnavulin 1973, sold out immediately upon release, with 30% of the total stock sold in just one day. More than 70% of the products sold were priced over 100,000 KRW, indicating a high average transaction value.

In particular, middle-aged and older consumers with strong purchasing power are driving the sales growth. Looking at sales composition by age, those in their 40s (43.6%) and 50s (10.8%) accounted for more than half of total sales. The average monthly purchase frequency for the 40s and 50s age groups was 1.7 times, higher than the 1.2 times for the 20s and 30s age groups, and the average monthly purchase amount per person was about 30% higher for the 40s and 50s compared to the 20s and 30s.

A BGF Retail official said, “As mobile liquor reservation and purchase gain widespread popularity, the convenience store liquor market is also growing. We will continue to launch differentiated products aligned with the latest liquor trends and enhance the sales system to further improve customer convenience.”