The number of overseas card transactions during this year's Chuseok golden holiday, which lasted up to 10 days, rose by nearly 40% from the Chuseok holiday last year.
On the 21st, an analysis by the Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute of usage trends among individual card members showed that the average daily number of transactions in overseas offline and travel-related sectors such as retail, lodging, and transportation from the 3rd to the 9th of this month increased 40.5% compared with the Chuseok holiday last year (Sept. 14–18). Increases in overseas spending and the number of overseas users by 37.7% and 27.6%, respectively, drove the trend.
At home, the mood was the exact opposite. Both the number of transactions and users fell, and only spending edged up. Average daily spending at domestic restaurants; cafes and bakeries; convenience stores; department stores; big-box marts; gas stations; amusement parks; and movie theaters rose just 0.2% from last Chuseok. The number of transactions (-4.7%) and users (-4.2%) decreased instead.
By sector, spending fell across all categories except restaurants, department stores, amusement parks, and gas stations. The steepest decline was at movie theaters. Transactions (-56.0%), spending (-48.9%), and users (-55.8%) all dropped by about half.
A Shinhan Card official said, "Last year, hits such as 'Veteran 2' opened during the Chuseok holiday, boosting theater demand, but this year the increase in theater closures and the spread of OTT (video streaming) usage appear to have sharply reduced demand for moviegoing."
Restaurant spending rose 6.8%, but cafes and bakeries fell 2.1%. Convenience stores and big-box marts also recorded spending declines of -4.9% and -20.6%, respectively. Department stores saw a 13.3% rise in transactions, with spending (16.8%) and users (12.8%) also increasing.
A Shinhan Card official said, "With the long holiday, demand for overseas travel increased, while domestic travel and consumption appear to have declined."