Seoul: The number of coffee shops, eateries and convenience stores in South Korea is on the wane amid a prolonged economic slowdown and sluggish domestic demand, data showed Sunday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, data compiled by the National Tax Service (NTS) revealed that 95,337 cafes were in service in the first quarter, marking a decline of 743 stores from the same period last year. This decline is the first since record-keeping began in 2018. That year, there were 45,203 cafes before the figure rose to 53,102 in 2019, 62,916 in 2020, 72,847 in 2021, 85,609 in 2022, and 93,913 in 2023. The number of coffee shops peaked at 96,080 last year before falling this year.
The downward trend also applied to restaurant businesses in general, with the number of fast food chains reaching 47,803 in the first quarter, a decrease of 180 shops from a year earlier. Korean food eateries and Chinese restaurants saw their numbers shrink by 484 and 268, respectively. Additionally, the number of convenience stores slipped by 455 on-year to 53,101 shops as of the end of March.
Industry officials note that many retirees who ventured into self-employed businesses are closing their shops due to market saturation and slowing domestic demand. Large commission fees for delivery platforms are also cited as factors burdening business owners. The average sales of small business owners in the first quarter were approximately 41.79 million won (US$30,558), down 0.72 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Credit Data.