Wine classes and price slashes: Department stores the new after-work hotspot

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Wine classes and price slashes: Department stores the new after-work hotspot

Published: 23 Jul. 2025, 15:45 Updated: 23 Jul. 2025, 17:11

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A side dish corner at a department store in central Seoul's Jung District on July 21 after 6 p.m. lures office workers looking to buy items on sale. [LIM SUN-YOUNG]

As the clock strikes six, Seoul’s department stores shift gears. What were once quiet aisles on weekday evenings now buzz with office workers fresh off the clock — grabbing half-price side dishes, browsing golf gear or slipping into wine and cooking classes.

“I never would have come here after work back when company dinners were nonstop or during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said one office worker who only wanted to be identified by his surname, Park, browsing golf gear. “But now that personal time after work is respected, I come almost every weeknight.”

In the basement food court, a shopper named Lee Song-hee packed up discounted side dishes.

“Eating out is too expensive, so at least twice a week I stop by here on my way home, grab discounted food and split it with friends who also live alone,” she said. “It saves time compared to coming on weekends.”

Offline retailers in Korea — department stores, convenience stores and big-box marts — are in a fierce race to reclaim the “after-work shopper,” a demographic they lost to e-commerce during the pandemic. They’re fighting back with app-linked services, flash sales, evening classes and membership perks designed to reel in the office crowd.

And it’s working.

Industry data show weekday evening sales — from 6 p.m. to closing time — at department stores rose roughly 15 percent in June and July compared to the same period last year.

“Office workers stopping by after work are driving the increase,” said one department store representative. “We’re ramping up marketing aimed specifically at them.”

An SK Telecom study using AI analysis of 2.5 million Seoul-area office workers found that after 6 p.m. on weekdays, specifically from Monday to Thursday, they most often head to shopping malls, department stores, large supermarkets and traditional markets — a surge reflecting the rebound of offline shopping, the rise of “work-life balance” culture and the pinch of rising restaurant prices.

A meat section at a Lotte Mart offers steep discounts during a pre-closing sale. [LOTTE MART]

Retailers have even coined a new term, “baek-toe-jok” in Korean, which means “people who go to a department store after work.” It’s an evolution from “pyeon-toe-jok,” which refers to those who stop by convenience stores straight after work.

Lotte Department Store’s main branch runs the “Euljiro Seosik Namnyeo” club for nearby office workers, offering members discounts and free parking through its app. The company says these members spend three times more annually than regular customers. Hyundai Department Store’s branches in Trade Center, southern Seoul, and Pangyo in Gyeonggi, run the “Club Friends” membership. If office workers near these branches sign up for this membership, they can receive discounts for cultural classes ranging from calligraphy and ballet to cooking and guitar lessons. It currently has some 400,000 members.

“The weekday evening sales growth rate this June and July is double that of weekend afternoons,” said a Hyundai spokesperson. “After-work white-collar shoppers have become crucial.”

A wine class is held at a Lotte Department Store in Jamsil, southern Seoul. [LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE]

To lure them in, department stores are expanding weekday evening programs. Shinsegae Department Store increased its weekday evening cultural classes by 10 percent this summer compared to spring. Lotte launched new gourmet and wine courses. Insiders say most classes at The Hyundai Seoul in western Seoul sell out the fastest.

Even prepared food counters are getting a makeover. Lotte added LED-lit displays to showcase its side dishes, while Shinsegae expanded menu offerings, lifting its deli sales by 13.2 percent during evening hours in the first half of the year.

Convenience stores, too, are doubling down on after-work traffic, focusing on app-based pickup services.

GS25 uses its app to sell nearly expired items at discounts of up to 45 percent [GS25]

GS Retail’s “Our Neighborhood GS” app sees its highest pickup traffic — 35.5 percent — between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. GS25 uses the app to sell nearly expired items at discounts of up to 45 percent, with sales in that category jumping 49 percent year-on-year in May and June. CU’s “Pocket CU” app sees its highest pickup rates between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Big-box chains are also chasing after the after-work wave. Emart has boosted its snack offerings to target the “home-drinking crowd,” while Lotte Mart holds nighttime discounts on seafood and meat, slashing prices up to 40 percent. E-commerce player 11st runs a “60-Minute Rush” sale every evening at 6 p.m., offering steep discounts on popular items for one hour.

“The key for retailers is to combine tailored strategies with differentiation to win over the after-work consumer,” said Heo Joon-young, an economics professor at Sogang University.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LIM SUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]