Cafes Become Playgrounds for the 50s and 60s... Up 215% Compared to Pre-Pandemic

Finda's 'Openup' Analysis:
Cafe Spending by Consumers in Their 50s and 60s Rises 1.8% Year-on-Year

Cafes have become playgrounds for consumers in their 50s and 60s.

Consumer status of cafes analyzed by Finda, a fintech company, using the AI commercial district analysis platform 'OpenUp'. Finda

Finda, a fintech company, analyzed nationwide cafe consumption data from 2019 to the first half of this year using its AI commercial district analysis platform 'Openup.' The analysis showed that total domestic cafe spending in the first half of the year amounted to approximately 3.515 trillion won, representing a decrease of about 5.86% compared to the same period last year.

Among this, consumers aged 50 and older accounted for 31.0% of all cafe payments, or about three out of every ten customers. This share has doubled compared to the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was 17.3%.

The payment ratio for those in their 20s and 30s was 44.9%, falling below half. This is a drop of 27 percentage points from 61.6% before the pandemic.

By age group, those in their 30s accounted for the largest share at 27.7%, followed by those in their 40s (24.1%), 50s (19.7%), 20s (17.2%), and those aged 60 and older (11.3%).

The total amount spent by consumers aged 50 and older was 1.0892 trillion won, a 215% increase from 345.8 billion won in the first half of 2019. During the same period, spending by those in their 20s and 30s rose by 28% (from 1.233 trillion won to 1.5799 trillion won).

The spending gap between consumers in their 20s and 30s and those aged 50 and older narrowed from 887.1 billion won in the first half of 2019 to 490.6 billion won in the first half of this year, a decrease of approximately 44.7%.

While overall cafe spending declined in the first half of this year, spending by consumers aged 50 and older increased by 1.8% compared to the previous year.

Spending by those in their 50s saw a slight decrease of 2%, but those aged 60 and older showed a sharp increase of 9.19%.

In contrast, cafe spending by those in their 20s and 30s dropped significantly, with those in their 20s down 15.8% and those in their 30s down 6.84%, resulting in a total decrease of 10.5% compared to last year.

Spending by those in their 20s (605.4 billion won) was lower than in the first half of 2019 (643.6 billion won), before the pandemic.

A Finda representative commented, "As cafe consumption by consumers aged 50 and older becomes more active, the perception of cafes as playgrounds for those in their 20s and 30s is breaking down. Unlike Millennials & Gen Z, who are gradually tightening their spending due to declining disposable income, consumers in their 50s and 60s, who have greater economic power and make up a larger share of the population, are emerging as a powerful consumer group."