GS Retail said on the 29th that last year's foreigner spending at GS25 convenience stores rose 74.2% from a year earlier.
As the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea returns to pre-pandemic levels, foreign spending in the retail market is expanding rapidly.
GS25's foreigner payment data show that mobile-based easy payments led spending. Alipay and WeChat Pay accounted for 97.7% of total payment value.
In particular, Chinese tourists have been coming throughout the year, starting with Lunar New Year in Feb., Labor Day in May, summer vacation in July–Aug., and National Day in Oct., and GS25's foreigner payment sales also increased during those periods.
By region, foreigner payment sales in Seoul, Jeju and Gyeonggi accounted for about 72% of the total. Even within metropolitan-level regions, specific districts and counties centered on major tourist spots with dense concentrations of foreign tourists showed higher sales shares.
GS25 is expanding customized services that support the overall stay of foreign tourists in Korea. Focusing on stores with heavy foreign visitor traffic such as Incheon Airport, Myeong-dong and Seongsu, it is distributing the "K-convenience store guidebook" and offering foreign currency exchange kiosks and instant value-added tax refunds (tax refund) and other services.
To mark the Lunar New Year season, GS25 is running promotions for foreign customers. It is offering a lucky draw event for Alipay customers. The UnionPay instant discount promotion is exclusive in the domestic convenience store industry. After scanning a customer QR code and registering a card, paying with UnionPay gives an immediate 15% discount.
A GS25 official said, "We will continue to expand foreigner payment options and increase K-content–specialized stores to raise both shopping convenience and stay satisfaction for visiting tourists, establishing ourselves as a must-visit channel for global travelers."