Why convenience stores are thriving during this year's rainy season

Convenience stores are having an unexpectedly strong rainy season — a period long considered the industry's slow stretch. The turnaround is driven by the rapid expansion of quick-commerce services that deliver orders within roughly an hour, reducing the weather-related sales swings that once weighed on the sector.

E-mart24 said Monday that delivery sales on days with nationwide rainfall of 10 millimeters or more ran about 22 percent higher than on dry days during the May-to-July period this year. Days when Seoul's daytime high reached 30 degrees Celsius or above also posted delivery sales roughly 20 percent stronger than on cooler days.

E-mart24's delivery sales for the first half of this year rose 2.9 times compared with the same period last year, while the number of stores offering delivery grew 20 percent from the end of last year. On the second and fourth Sundays of May and June — mandatory rest days for large hypermarkets in Seoul — delivery sales jumped about 41 percent compared with the same day the previous week. Saturday delivery sales also ran about 50 percent above weekday levels.

Other chains tell a similar story. GS25 said its quick-commerce sales surged 54 percent year-on-year during July 1-9, when rainfall was particularly heavy, and were up 20 percent from the June monthly average. CU's delivery sales over the same period climbed 31.0 percent from a month earlier. Chilled bakery items such as burritos and croquettes led the gains at 253.8 percent, while iced drinks rose 97.9 percent. Bread (35.8 percent), dosirak (25.7 percent), kimchi (24.7 percent) and seasonings (20.3 percent) also posted strong increases.

Convenience stores have historically been among the retail channels most exposed to weather. But the spread of quick commerce is smoothing out that volatility. Concerns were once raised that high logistics costs made profitability difficult, yet persistently elevated prices and a growing single-person household population have steadily built demand for small-quantity grocery and daily-essentials purchases. Same-day and early-morning delivery have become mainstream, and "buy what you need right now" delivery has carved out its own distinct market.

An industry official said convenience store delivery "is evolving beyond simply ordering lunch boxes or late-night snacks into a one-stop grocery service where customers pick up beverages, daily necessities and frozen foods all at once," adding that "the combination of accessibility and price competitiveness has made it a mainstream way to shop.".