Estimated card spending at warehouse club retailers in South Korea, including Costco and E-Mart Traders, hit a record high last month.
Estimated card payments at Costco and E-Mart Traders totaled a combined 1.45 trillion won ($1 billion) in September, according to a sample survey of credit and debit card transaction data by WiseApp·Retail, an app and payment data analytics firm, released on the 20th.
Both Costco and E-Mart Traders individually set record highs for estimated spending. The figures are estimates based on card transaction records and exclude payments made through bank transfers and cash, meaning they differ from the companies' actual revenue.
Lotte Department Store was the offline retailer where South Koreans spent the most last month. Indexed against Lotte Department Store's estimated spending at 100, E-Mart ranked second at 88.7 and convenience store chain GS25 placed third at 70.1.
They were followed by Shinsegae Department Store (69.8), Nonghyup Hanaro Mart (68.1), CU (67.0), Costco (51.6), Hyundai Department Store (50.8), Olive Young (33.4), Seven-Eleven (32.9), Lotte Mart (31.3), Daiso (28.1) and E-Mart Traders (26.8).
"Among major retail channels including hypermarkets, department stores and convenience stores, spending at warehouse clubs is growing," an industry official said. "It appears warehouse clubs, with their bulk-size offerings, are absorbing grocery demand amid high inflation."