Research conducted by Shinhan Card showed that Hongdae Station saw the highest increase in credit card usage compared to two years ago at 15.2 percent.(Image:Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Jul. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — A big data analysis of credit card usage at businesses within a 1km radius of the five busiest subway stations in Seoul revealed Hongdae Station to be at the head of the pack, with Express Bus Terminal Station lagging behind.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the five busiest subway stations are Hongdae Station, Gangnam Station, Jamsil Station, Express Bus Terminal Station and Sadang Station.
Research conducted by Shinhan Card showed that Hongdae Station saw the highest increase in credit card usage compared to two years ago at 15.2 percent. Behind Hongdae was Sadang with a 10.2 percent increase, Jamsil at 9.4 percent, Gangnam at 8.6 percent and Express Bus Terminal at 0.1 percent.
Express Bus Terminal actually saw credit card usage fall by 3 percent compared to last year’s findings, the only station to see a decline. This is despite the fact that over 90,000 passengers pass through the station daily, making it the second busiest subway station in Seoul after Gangnam Station.
When the data for Express Bus Terminal was broken down, it revealed that Chinese restaurants, convenience stores and cafés showed significant increases in credit card usage at 62 percent, 42.2 percent and 31.9 percent, respectively. On the flip side, after-hours establishments (karaoke bars, nightclubs), beauty shops and fashion and accessory stores suffered big losses of 44.1 percent, 40.9 percent and 36.4 percent, respectively.
The researchers that conducted the study provided a possible explanation for the Express Bus Terminal’s losses: “The area once had a significant retail market for fashion and beauty products, but as consumers now increasingly prefer online shopping for such items, sales figures have dropped.”
Compared to two years ago, credit card usage at convenience stores rose 45.3 percent, but usage at after-hours establishments fell 36 percent in Hongdae.
Sadang Station, while showing robust growth in overall credit card usage, also had many similarities with Express Bus Terminal Station’s data. Convenience stores rose by 57.8 percent and Chinese restaurants by 36.8 percent, but beauty shops, cafés and after-hours establishments fell by 23.4 percent, 15.9 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.
There were some differences in credit card usage between weekdays and weekends.
Hongdae Station held the pole position on weekdays and weekends, while Sadang Station and Gangnam Station traded places for second and fourth. On weekdays, Sadang Station held second place while Gangnam Station was at fourth. On weekends, the spots were reversed with Gangnam Station coming in second and Sadang Station occupying fourth.
By S.B.Woo(editor@koreabizwire.com)
