Convenience stores to beef up vegetable offerings
Convenience stores here are offering vegetables at discounted prices to attract customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the government has strengthened quarantine measures to keep people at home, they are left with fewer choices but to shop online or purchase groceries at nearby convenience stores.
Most items sold at convenience stores are often perceived as pricier and lower in quality than those sold at supermarkets or discount stores.
To change this perception, BGF Retail and GS Retail have decided to launch promotional event for vegetables at CU and GS Fresh Mall, respectively. CU is BGF Retail’s convenience store brand and GS Fresh Mall is GS Retail’s online grocery store.
BGF Retail said Thursday that CU has started selling six types of produce, including perilla leaves, spicy chili peppers, and cucumber chili peppers until end of this month for a 20 percent discount.
Some vegetables are 55 percent cheaper than those available at local supermarkets. For a large green onion, CU will sell it for 40 won per 10 grams, which is more than half the price of the 87 won that supermarkets charge for the same weight.
BGF Retail has simplified its distribution process in order to cut prices significantly. It has skipped using brokers to trade directly with farmers.
“Convenience stores have been offering various types of vegetables at reasonable prices, and doing so has increased sales significantly.
We will continue to provide convenience to our customers by introducing a greater variety of products according to their needs,” a BGF Retail official said.
GS Retail has opened a special store for vegetables in its online GS Fresh Mall. Every day, the retail firm chooses 50 different types of greens and offer them at the lowest prices.
The company monitors the vegetable prices that its competitors offer and adjusts its prices twice a day to keep the figures at their lowest.
“Customers are now shopping by searching for quality products at the lowest prices. We have adopted this new strategy to catch the trend and offer the freshest veggies at the best prices. We hope this will contribute to price stability for our food too,” a GS Retail official said.