High Prices Lead to Frugal Spending... CU Sees Increased Demand for 1+1 Deals

Increased Sensitivity to Free Gift Promotions

Recently, as the trend of frugal consumption has spread amid high inflation, demand for 1+1 products at convenience stores has surpassed that for 2+1 products.

According to CU on the 20th, over the past three years, the sales proportion of 1+1 promotional products has increased by more than 10 percentage points, while the proportion of 2+1 promotional products has decreased by 6 percentage points. In particular, the sales share of 1+1 promotional products rose to 27.2% last year and reached 29% in January and February of this year. Although both are buy-one-get-one or more free promotions, 2+1 promotional products have relatively declined.

Customers are purchasing 1+1 products at CU.
Photo by BGF Retail

The rising demand for 1+1 promotions is analyzed to be due to increased sensitivity to free-gift promotions amid successive price hikes and consumer psychology aimed at minimizing spending. In response, CU has increased the number of products eligible for free-gift promotions by more than 50% compared to three years ago.

A BGF Retail official stated, “Recently, convenience stores have established themselves as shopping channels with reasonable prices, and amid widespread price increases, the frugal consumption trend is clearly evident even in +1 free-gift promotions. We will continue to carefully analyze consumers’ changing purchasing patterns and plan ultra-discounted products and budget-friendly promotions accordingly.”