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Nearly seven out 10 business areas run by small merchants in South Korea are projected to have suffered sales drop from the outbreak of COVID-19, credit card spending records suggest.
According to a study by local business consultancy Sejong on credit card transaction data at 38 merchant partners to BC Card in April, card spending at 26 business segments plunged. BC credit revenue at these businesses fell 16.9 percent on year. Spending rose at 12 sectors.
Education agents for study-abroad programs were the hardest hit by the virus crisis with credit card transactions slashed 93.4 percent on year, as international travel virtually has remained a standstill due to border closures among countries to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Revenue at antique stores (-92.7 percent), tennis training centers (-86.5 percent), piano retailers (-77.4 percent), and postnatal care centers (-74.2 percent) also more than halved in April compared to a year earlier. Other small merchants that saw a sharp fall in sales include indoor recreational centers like bowling alleys (-46.5 percent) and noraebang or singing rooms (-42.3 percent), as well as jewelry shops (-20.8 percent), and laundromats (-10.8 percent).
In contrast, credit card spending on personal computers more than tripled over the same period thanks to online learning and working from home mode. Also, sales at food stores, including grocery stores (117.0 percent), butchers (128.0 percent), bakeries (102.2 percent) and convenience stores (103.9 percent), more than doubled as people preferred to cook at home.
While coronavirus has dealt a blow on most small businesses hard, some have avoided the hit and even saw sales rise with people spending more time at home, said Kim Kyu-il, head of Sejong business consultancy.
By Pulse
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]