'Convenience Store Pure Gold Vending Machine Gains Popularity'... Gold Bar Sales Reach 2 Billion Won

GS Retail operates 29 Geumjapangi vending machines
Cumulative sales exceed 2 billion KRW
Main customers are men in their 30s and 40s

As the global preference for safe assets drives gold prices to soar, more people are buying physical gold bars. In particular, the introduction of gold vending machines in convenience stores has lowered the barrier to gold investment, which was not previously popular among the general public.

According to GS Retail on the 11th, the cumulative sales of gold vending machines, first introduced in September last year, have now surpassed 2 billion KRW. The store with the highest gold sales is the GS25 branch in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with cumulative sales exceeding 600 million KRW. With gold prices soaring over the past month, the popularity of gold vending machines is increasing further. GS Retail’s gold vending machine sales rose by 17.1% from the previous month between the 10th of last month and the 9th of this month. The international gold price, based on the New York Commodity Exchange (COMEX), rose 8.5 percentage points from $1,867.20 per troy ounce on the 10th of last month to $2,026.40 on the 6th of this month.

A model is introducing the Geumja vending machine at GS25.
[Photo by GS Retail]

Gold vending machines have been popular mainly among men in their 30s and 40s. A GS Retail official explained, “Analysis of the customer base for stores with gold vending machines showed that men in their 30s and 40s are the main customers. A notable point is that purchases by customers in their 20s have been increasing recently.” Currently, GS Retail operates gold vending machines at 10 GS25 stores including Yeoksam Hongin and Gangseo LG Science, and 19 GS The Fresh stores including Godeok Gracium and Yangcheon Shineun. Initially, they planned to pilot the machines at five stores until August this year before deciding on full adoption, but due to a flood of inquiries from franchisees, the number has expanded to 29 stores.

Gold vending machines sell five types of products ranging from 1.875g to 75g, and are third-generation models with trading condition settings that change daily based on international gold prices. Previously, convenience stores faced limitations in handling high-priced products due to inventory burden and theft risk, but gold vending machines have opened a safe way to sell various precious metal products such as gold bars and commemorative coins. The purchase process is simple: select the product on the vending machine and choose a credit card for payment. After completing the card issuer’s identity verification process, the gold bar is dispensed from the bottom of the vending machine.

GS Retail plans to introduce gold vending machines to 100 locations by the end of the year. While expanding the range of products to include gift items such as stone rings and lucky $2 bills beyond investment purposes, they are also considering launching GS-exclusive gold products. Next month, to celebrate Family Month, they will introduce differentiated gold products such as gold carnations.

A GS Retail official said, “High-priced precious metal sales were previously only possible through brochure orders due to inventory and theft management burdens, but gold vending machines have resolved these constraints at once. With the increased preference for safe assets and the trend of small-scale investments, the number of customers purchasing gold bars continues to rise.”