Pokemon Cards and Random Keyrings Drive a Korean Convenience Store Boom

South Korean convenience store chains are reporting sharp sales increases in collectible toys and trading cards, as random keyrings and Pokemon card packs draw younger shoppers into stores through a "gacha"-style purchasing model built on scarcity and chance.

At GS25, sales of random keyrings rose 133% between January and August compared with the prior year, according to the company's own toy category data. Pokemon trading card sales at the chain grew even faster, up 494% over the same period. Rival chain CU, operated by BGF Retail, has similarly expanded its character collaboration lineup; a batch of 250,000 Pokemon card packs reportedly sold out within three days of release.

The products share a common structure: customers do not know which specific keyring design or card they will receive until after purchase, a format similar to gacha or blind-box retail already popular in toy and collectible categories elsewhere in Asia. Limited and random-format releases encourage repeat store visits, both to attempt to complete a set and to check app-based stock availability before items sell out, according to industry commentary on the trend.

The growth in collectible sales reflects convenience chains' efforts to reach younger consumers, broadly described in Korean retail coverage as the "1020" demographic (teens and twenties), a group with less habitual reliance on convenience stores for daily necessities than older shoppers. By pairing limited-edition character merchandise with app-based stock checks and pre-order systems, chains are using collectibles as a store-traffic and app-engagement driver rather than treating them as a standalone toy category, mirroring the exclusive food and beverage drops that have separately driven surges in convenience store app downloads this year.

Source: E-Today (이투데이), "Touring Convenience Stores in Search of Random Keyrings... 'Treasure Hunt Marketing' Draws in Teens and Twenties," September 2026.