Six out of 10 people said the mandatory closure system for big-box stores should be eased or abolished.
According to a retail industry perception survey released on the 11th by the Korean Academic Society of Distribution, which recently polled 2,000 adults age 18 and older, 59.5% of respondents said the mandatory closure system for big-box stores should be "eased" (30.8%) or "abolished" (28.7%). Only 30.4% said it should remain "as is."
Under the Distribution Industry Development Act, big-box stores are currently required to close twice a month. Including deliveries, they also cannot operate from midnight until 10 a.m. the next day.
On restrictions on big-box store business hours, easing the rules (32.0%) and keeping them as is (30.4%) outpaced abolishing them (26.8%). A majority, 65.1%, said early-morning delivery by big-box stores should be allowed, while 15.8% said it should not be allowed.
A total of 74.6% of respondents said the rapid growth of online platforms (e-commerce) poses a threat to the big-box industry. The biggest impact of e-commerce growth on big-box stores was cited as "store closures and downsizing" (44.2%).
If big-box store locations decline, the top concern was "shrinking local living infrastructure" (66.6%). That was followed by reduced consumer access to grocery shopping (53.9%), a slump in local economies and commercial districts (47.7%), and fewer local jobs (38.0%).
Jang Myeong-gyun, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Hoseo University who oversaw the survey, said, "People see big-box stores not as targets of regulation but as core infrastructure that supports consumer life and local economies," adding, "It is necessary to review the regulations on big-box stores that have continued for the past 10 years and shift policy in a consumer-centered direction."