E-mart24, GS25 bring Ichiban Kuji lottery format to stores

Goods-related sales jump as fans shop with purpose

E-mart24 is expanding its subculture product lineup. [E-mart24]
E-mart24 is expanding its subculture product lineup. [E-mart24]

Convenience stores are expanding their lineups of products and content tied to Japanese anime intellectual property, as a growing number of consumers visit not for food or household goods but for character merchandise such as figures — turning the neighborhood store into a destination for fans.

According to the retail industry Saturday, E-mart24 recently added a dedicated category for anime figures and manga to its mobile app's reservation-and-pickup service. Through the service, the chain sells figures based on popular Japanese anime titles including "Jujutsu Kaisen," "Demon Slayer" and "Chainsaw Man."

Spending on "subculture" items — figures, character goods and prize draws — has been rising across the convenience store sector. At E-mart24, average monthly sales of anime and gaming figures and goods from June through August jumped 171 percent year on year. Sales of capsule-box and other prize-draw products in the first half of this year rose 89.5 percent.

Physical stores are also bringing in Ichiban Kuji, a Japanese character-goods lottery format. E-mart24 recently introduced a paper-ticket version at its flagship Trend Lab Seongsu store. Known informally as a "no-miss lottery," Ichiban Kuji has customers draw a ticket at random to receive a prize — figures, plush toys or other goods — determined by the ticket's rating.

A GS25 store specializing in Ichiban Kuji. [GS Retail]
A GS25 store specializing in Ichiban Kuji. [GS Retail]

GS25, operated by GS Retail, opened a dedicated Ichiban Kuji store in Busan's Seomyeon district in July. The ground floor operates as a standard convenience store, while the second floor is devoted to Ichiban Kuji and a space where visitors can experience anime and character IP — stocked with limited-edition figures and related goods based on well-known properties. The store also features a gacha kiosk alongside the Ichiban Kuji kiosk. GS25 plans to run the location as a pilot before rolling the format out nationwide.

The industry's push into character merchandise reflects a pattern of purpose-driven visits — customers coming specifically to buy IP-related products rather than everyday staples. An analysis of L.Point transaction data by Lotte Members covering last June through this May found that consumers in their 20s showed a clear tendency to visit convenience stores for specific IP products or exclusive new releases. Customers who bought IP products three or more times visited stores more than three times as often as those who bought them only once.

The broadening of IP consumption from a niche hobby into a mainstream retail category is also cited as a driver. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency's "2025 Character User Survey," 79.8 percent of respondents said they had purchased character merchandise. Purchase rates were relatively higher among women (84.1 percent), teenagers (90.2 percent) and consumers in their 20s (84.4 percent).

The growth in goods-bundled products stands out across the industry. GS25 said sales of products paired with goods rose 122.2 percent year on year in the January–July period, while the number of such products it carried grew 40 percent to 105 items over the same period. Other chains posted similarly sharp gains: CU saw goods-bundled product sales jump 121.4 percent, and Seven-Eleven recorded a 424 percent surge.

"IP-related products and content are continuing to expand because they draw in younger customers and increase both time spent in stores and linked purchases," a retail industry official said. "Because so many consumers visit specifically to buy goods, we keep adding to our related product offerings."


korean@heraldcorp.com