Coffee Market Shaken After Starbucks Controversy: A Twosome Place Leads in Card Payments for Third Consecutive Month

Following the controversy surrounding Starbucks' so-called "Tank Day" promotion, changes are emerging in the payment rankings of South Korea's coffee franchise market.

Estimated credit and debit card payments for A Twosome Place have surpassed those of Starbucks for three consecutive months.

Mega MGC Coffee is also closing in on Starbucks, with monthly payments nearing 100 billion won.

According to Mobile Index by AI data firm IGAWorks today (August 4), A Twosome Place's estimated payment amount last month reached 117.05 billion won, which was about 7 billion won higher than Starbucks' 110.06 billion won.

A Twosome Place has outpaced Starbucks in payments for three straight months starting in May.

In statistics from the past three years, May marked the first time that A Twosome Place outpaced Starbucks in terms of monthly payment volume.

After first surpassing 100 billion won in monthly payments in May of last year, A Twosome Place maintained the 100 billion won range for 15 consecutive months until last month.

In May of this year, A Twosome Place recorded 123.65 billion won, leading Starbucks' 121.19 billion won by about 2.5 billion won.

In June, A Twosome Place recorded 120.68 billion won, while Starbucks lagged at 100.39 billion won, widening the gap to about 20.3 billion won.

During the three-month period from May to July, the cumulative payment amount reached 361.38 billion won for A Twosome Place and 331.64 billion won for Starbucks, putting A Twosome Place ahead by approximately 29.8 billion won.

On May 18, Starbucks became embroiled in controversy for using phrases such as "Tank Day" in a tumbler promotional event, which critics argued disparaged the May 18 Democratization Movement and the death of activist Park Jong-cheol under torture.

Immediately following the controversy, Starbucks' weekly payment volume and new app installations both decreased.

However, last month, Starbucks' payment amount increased by 9.6% from the previous month, while A Twosome Place's dropped by 3.0%, narrowing the gap between the two companies again.

As a result, some industry observers suggest that it remains to be seen whether A Twosome Place will maintain its lead or if Starbucks will reclaim the number one spot in payments.

Following Starbucks and A Twosome Place, Mega MGC Coffee's payment amount last month came to 98.21 billion won, coming close to the 100 billion won mark.

Mega MGC Coffee's payment amount represents a 1.6% increase from the previous month.

Paik's Coffee recorded 245 billion won in payments, maintaining a level similar to the previous month.

Industry insiders note that while the growth of A Twosome Place and budget coffee brands had been underway even before the controversy, the damage to Starbucks' brand trust and the movement of consumers away from the brand have accelerated changes in the market's competitive landscape.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.