Easy Payment Available at Convenience Stores... GS25 "Usage Rate Up 182.6% in One Year"

Grows as One of the Major Payment Methods in Convenience Stores

The number of customers using simple payment services such as Samsung Pay, Kakao Pay, and Naver Pay at convenience stores has been increasing.

A customer is purchasing a product using GS Pay, GS25's own simple payment system.
[Photo by GS Retail]

GS Retail announced on the 23rd that, after analyzing purchase data from its operated convenience store GS25 over two months starting March 16, the number of smartphone-based simple payment transactions, including various pay services, increased by 182.6% compared to the same period last year. GS25 operates more than 10 types of simple payment systems, including its own GS Pay, Apple Pay, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, Samsung Pay, and Payco.

GS Retail analyzed that GS Pay led the growth of simple payment systems by increasing 299.5%, surpassing the overall simple payment growth rate of 110 percentage points. Previously, GS Retail launched GS Pay as its own simple payment system in August 2021. It is available at about 17,000 offline stores including GS25 and GS The Fresh, with the cumulative number of subscribers exceeding 2 million.

Apple Pay, recently introduced in Korea, also drove the growth of simple payment services. It was analyzed that the influx of new simple payment customers significantly increased after the launch of Apple Pay. Among Apple Pay usage locations, convenience stores were the most active, and GS Retail added that GS25 was ranked as the place with the highest Apple Pay usage during the first month after its release.

GS25 plans to accelerate the activation of simple payments by offering special promotions. For GS Pay users, events such as a 20% payback (limited to 10,000 points) on all purchases from Cookat and a 1+1 sale on five popular food items including Yours Gonghwachun Jajang (bagged) will be held until the end of this month. Additionally, promotions such as a 1+1 event on five premium yogurts including Yours (P) Kaymak Yogurt Honey when purchasing with Apple Pay, and a 50% payback (limited to 10,000 points) on all products from Pyeonstorang when purchasing with Kakao Pay will also be conducted.

A GS Retail official said, "Smartphone-based simple payment systems are expected to grow as major payment methods at convenience stores alongside credit cards and cash," adding, "We will focus on advancing digitalization that supports convenient shopping, led by GS Pay and the Our Neighborhood GS app, and lead the next-generation commerce trends."