SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of unmanned stores including selfie shops, and specialized stores like taphouses dramatically increased last year, a credit card issuer said Thursday.
KB Kookmin Card Corp., a unit of South Korea’s banking giant KB Financial Group Inc., analyzed credit and debit card transaction data from its cardholders, which showed that KB card purchases at unmanned selfie studios jumped by 271 percent last year compared to the year prior.
The number of selfie shops that opened last year accounted for 54 percent of all temporary studios in the country in the previous year.
Sales at coin karaoke rooms also jumped by 115 percent. Those that opened last year accounted for 28 percent of all coin-operated karaoke facilities in the previous year.
A new consumption trend highlighted stores focusing on particular products.
The number of taphouses last year jumped by 283 percent from the previous year, with sushi vendors up 59 percent.
New taphouses and sushi restaurants accounted for 60 percent and 41 percent, respectively, of the total number of stores in the previous year.
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
