Convenience stores near Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul also enjoyed a "World Cup boom" on the 12th of this month, when a street rally was held as South Korea staged a come-from-behind victory over the Czech Republic in their first group-stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.
According to the retail industry on the 13th, sales at GS25 convenience stores near Gwanghwamun on the 12th rose 25.1 percent from a week earlier. Counting only the period from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. before and after the match, the sales growth rate reached 85.7 percent.
By product, non-alcoholic beer posted the highest growth rate at 14.6-fold (1,367.8 percent). Beer sales rose about 5.9-fold (490.6 percent) and soju about 2.8-fold (178.3 percent). Items related to the street rally also gained popularity, including snacks at 3.5-fold (254.8 percent), chicken at 2.6-fold (158.7 percent), ice cups at 5-fold (401.9 percent), side dishes up 87.5 percent and wet wipes up 81.1 percent.
CU convenience stores were also found to have seen sales rise 3.4-fold from the previous week. Ice rose 6.1-fold (510.3 percent), iced drinks 6-fold (495.8 percent), sports and ion drinks 5.8-fold (480.9 percent), ice cream 5.1-fold (409.2 percent), bottled water 4.9-fold (394.7 percent) and beer 4.1-fold (310.1 percent).
Ready-to-eat foods bought by office workers who skipped lunch and headed out to the streets to grab a bite also contributed to the sales increase. These included gimbap at 3.1-fold (214.3 percent), triangle gimbap at 3-fold (202.5 percent) and sandwiches at 2.8-fold (183.1 percent). Sales of snacks and side dishes were also strong, with snacks at 3.1-fold (211.6 percent), bread at 2.6-fold (159.9 percent), desserts at 2.3-fold (126.7 percent) and meat side dishes such as jerky at 2.1-fold (113.2 percent).
Items such as portable battery chargers at 7.4-fold (640.2 percent), mobile phone accessories such as cables at 6.3-fold (525.5 percent), mats at 5.1-fold (410.1 percent), wet wipes at 5-fold (396.4 percent) and sunscreen at 2.6-fold (160.3 percent) also showed high sales growth rates.
Sales at 10 Seven Eleven stores near Gwanghwamun Square the previous day rose 4.2-fold based on the period from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Beer sales in particular jumped 180-fold. Due to the hot weather, customers also bought 24 times more umbrellas than usual to block the sun.
