From luxury queues to closing-time bargains: Korea's shopping shift
As evening settled over Seoul’s western Seogyo-dong neighborhood and closing time approached, customers streamed out of a bakery café carrying bags stuffed with bread. The bakery sells its unsold bread and pastries at half price at the end of each day to customers who reserve them in advance. Owner Lee Yoo-jin, 35, has offered the end-of-day discount for two years and says demand has recently…
In Seoul's western Seogyo-dong neighborhood, evening brought a shift in shopping habits as customers rushed to a bakery café after closing time. Buyers flocked to the bakery, carrying bags filled with bread and pastries, which the establishment sold at half price at the end of each day. The bakery owner, 35-year-old Lee Yoo-jin, had implemented this discount system two years ago, noting a recent surge in demand.
The café typically reserves eight bags daily for these end-of-day deals, but often experiences full bookings or has to cancel some reservations due to high demand.
This trend of late shopping is becoming increasingly popular in Korea. Unlike the "open-run" rush observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, where shoppers queued outside luxury boutiques before opening hours, the current focus is on capitalizing on end-of-day discounts. Consumers are actively seeking out these post-closing deals to purchase food at more affordable prices.
The bakery is not alone in observing this shift; it is part of a broader trend in Korea where shopping behaviors are changing as consumers take advantage of reduced prices during the final hours of operation.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written; read the original for the full account.
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