Convenience stores woo 'zalpha' generation with short-form video, SNS outreach

South Korea's convenience store industry is standing up new teams staffed by young employees and sharpening its focus on the "zalpha generation" — a term combining Generation Z and Generation Alpha to describe shoppers in their teens and 20s. Chains are rolling out tailored strategies that range from producing short-form videos for in-store use to scouting products trending on SNS.

BGF Retail, which operates the CU convenience store chain, has launched a Sales Innovation Task Force composed entirely of zalpha-generation members, according to retail industry sources. Recruits were drawn from store consultants with five or fewer years of experience who work on in-store sales strategy. Team members were born between 1996 and 2004, placing all of them within the zalpha cohort.

The task force centers on a program called "YOUNG UP!" — a Korean wordplay on "young" and "sales" — designed to develop effective sales strategies targeting zalpha customers and apply those ideas directly in stores. A second cohort of the program launches Tuesday to begin second-half field testing.

One standout example is the team's use of short-form video: members produce clips and display them on tablet PCs installed at stores near villa-style residential clusters and schools with high concentrations of young customers. The tablets also promote online stamp events and meal-kit subscription services. Store staff open SNS chat rooms to announce promotions and communicate directly with customers, and send alerts notifying them when fried chicken is ready or when fresh meal kits arrive.

"We are reaching out through mobile and SNS, taking into account the characteristics of zalpha customers," a BGF Retail official said. "Both the franchisor and franchisees are actively making use of SNS and mobile channels."

Rivals are pursuing similar strategies. GS25 has created a dedicated "Trend Product Differentiation Team" to turn domestic and international consumer trends into new products. E-mart24 has also launched a "Trend Research Lab" within its product division to track trends and develop merchandise around them.

A survey by Wise App·Retail on the retail channels most frequently used by Generation Z shoppers in the second half of last year found that convenience stores led all channels, with an average of about 120 million transactions per month. At CU, customers in their 20s accounted for 28.7 percent of all transactions by age group, followed by those in their 30s at 25.7 percent — together making up more than half of all purchases.