Starbucks Korea's estimated credit and debit card spending last month fell by more than 10 billion won from the previous month. The decline has continued since the "Tank Day" controversy that erupted last month.
According to Mobile Index by big data platform corporations IGAworks on the 4th, Starbucks' estimated credit and debit card spending in May was 121.19 billion won. That was down about 13.1 billion won (9.8%) from April's 134.32 billion won.
The decline persisted on a weekly basis as well. Starbucks' weekly spending fell from 32.16 billion won on May 11–17 to 23.69 billion won on May 18–24, when the Tank Day controversy broke out, and decreased again to 21.46 billion won on May 25–31.
In particular, spending in the last week of last month dropped by 2.23 billion won (9.4%) from the previous week, marking a second straight weekly decline. The figure reflects estimated domestic credit and debit card payments and does not include payments made via corporate account transfers, cash, gift certificates, simple payment services, or in-app payments.
Meanwhile, demand for Starbucks vouchers, which had slowed in the KakaoTalk Gift institutional sector for cafes, is recovering. According to KakaoTalk Gift, as of 3 p.m. that day, the "e-card 50,000 won voucher" ranked No. 1 in the cafe category, and the coffee and fresh cream castella set voucher ranked No. 2.
On May 18, the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement, Starbucks promoted a tumbler discount event using expressions such as "Tank Day" and "bang on the desk," sparking controversy. As criticism spread online and on social media (SNS), Shinsegae Group dismissed the head of Starbucks Korea, and Chung Yong-jin personally stepped forward to issue a public apology as part of efforts to contain the fallout.