Responding to a surge in late-night quick commerce demand across major South Korean cities, the nation’s two leading convenience store giants, CU and GS25, are now expanding their delivery services to operate round-the-clock. This significant enhancement ensures customers can access essential items and snacks any time, day or night.
Starting Tuesday, both CU, operated by BGF Retail, and GS25, managed by GS Retail, will offer uninterrupted 24/7 delivery through Coupang Eats, the popular food and grocery delivery platform powered by e-commerce titan Coupang. This strategic partnership aims to revolutionize convenience retail in the country.
This new, seamless service allows customers to place orders from their favorite convenience stores 24 hours a day. Delivery hours have been critically extended to cover the crucial 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. slot, an interval previously unavailable. Prior to this expansion, CU and GS25 delivery services were limited to between 6 a.m. and 3 a.m., leaving a significant gap in overnight accessibility.
The move to 24-hour service follows the successful launch of a dedicated late-night delivery option, available from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., which was introduced last November. The robust growth in this segment clearly demonstrated a strong market need. From January to April this year, CU reported an impressive 120 percent increase in delivery sales during the 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. period, significantly outperforming its overall delivery sales growth rate of 91.6 percent for the same timeframe.
Similarly, GS25’s late-night delivery sales (10 p.m. to 3 a.m.) now constitute approximately 21.7 percent of its total delivery sales. This marks a substantial 4.3 percentage point increase since its implementation in November, underscoring the growing consumer reliance on midnight convenience. GS25 data highlights a particularly high demand for small meals and various snacks among these late-night orders.
CU’s extensive round-the-clock delivery service is set to commence across approximately 7,500 stores in major cities nationwide. GS25 will initially roll out its 24/7 service at around 1,000 stores in key urban centers, with ambitious plans for phased expansion into additional regions, ensuring broader access to convenient, on-demand retail.
