E-Mart 24 to hold price increases on six PB products

[Courtesy of E-Mart 24]

South Korean convenience store (CVS) chain E-Mart 24 Inc. announced on Friday that it would extend a price freeze on coffee, milk, and water under its own label “I’m e,” which will last until the end of March 2024.

A total of six items will be subject to the price freeze, including four PET-bottled coffees and a single 500-mL bottle of water.

The freeze was due to end at the end of December 2023, but E-Mart 24 decided to extend the timeframe as customers grapple with historic high inflation, according to the CVS chain.

The I’m e-labelled products are among the cheapest available and are showing robust sales growth. Sales of the products grew in a range of 41 to 81 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the same period a year ago.

The sales growth was driven by a recent consumption shift toward more cost-effective purchases among consumers.

“We will implement more diverse consumer-friendly schemes to alleviate the burden on customers even if just a little,” an E-Mart 24 official said.