Middle and High School Students Spend 150,000 Won per Month on Check Cards... 22% Increase in 5 Years

KB Kookmin Card Reveals Check Card Trends
Monthly Usage Up 13% Compared to Five Years Ago
Convenience Stores, Coffee, and Entertainment Lead... Education Accounts for Only 4%

The monthly spending amount on check cards by middle and high school students was 150,000 KRW, showing a 22% increase over the past five years. Payments at convenience stores, coffee & dessert shops, and entertainment services accounted for nearly half, while education and books made up only 4%.

KB Kookmin Card announced the results of a survey on check card payment data for middle and high school students in celebration of the new semester on the 16th. They analyzed 260 million payment transactions from 710,000 check card users aged 14 to 19 between 2019 and 2024.

The average monthly spending by middle and high school students increased by 21.6%, from 121,600 KRW in 2019 to 147,900 KRW in 2024. The number of transactions rose by 12.8%, from 16.4 to 18.5 per month. In contrast, adult customers showed only a 2.3% increase in spending and a 1.2% decrease in transaction count.

The payment proportions for middle and high school students were convenience stores (25%), coffee & dessert (11%), entertainment services (10%), and education & books (4%), in that order.

Forty-one percent of middle and high school check card customers used convenience stores more than five times per month. Seventeen percent visited convenience stores more than ten times per month.

When dividing the main usage times between convenience stores and school cafeterias, convenience stores were most used during school commute hours, while school cafeterias were most frequented between 12 PM and 2 PM.

Looking at food-related sectors (restaurants and coffee & dessert) by transaction count, coffee accounted for 28%, dessert specialty stores 19%, fast food 14%, foreign cuisine 14%, and Korean food 11%.

Among 26 dessert specialty categories, yogurt showed the largest increase in spending by middle and high school students. Yogurt spending in the past year increased by 317% compared to 2023. The number of transactions also rose by 177%. Conversely, the popular dessert Tanghulu saw a 75% decrease in one year.

Within the entertainment services sector, PC bang payments overwhelmingly dominated. The transaction share was PC bang (55%), coin karaoke (16%), unmanned photo booths (6%), billiards & bowling alleys (5%), and theme cafes (4%), in that order.

A KB Kookmin Card official stated, "By analyzing consumption data over the past five years, we were able to identify payment trends in major sectors. We will continue to analyze data across various age groups to understand changes in consumption trends and strive to improve our products."