Turnaround 5 Months After 'Tank Day' Controversy: What Happened at Starbucks?

Five months after facing fierce criticism over the 'Tank Day' controversy in May, Starbucks has reclaimed the top spot in coffee brand credit and debit card payment volume.

According to mobile big data platform IGAWorks' Mobile Index on October 11, Starbucks' estimated credit and debit card payment volume for September was tallied at 121.08 billion won.

This is a 4.3% increase compared to a month earlier.

On the other hand, A Twosome Place recorded 110.5 billion won, marking a 6.4% decrease from the previous month.

As a result, Starbucks overtook A Twosome Place by about 10.6 billion won, reversing the rankings.

Starbucks had lagged behind A Twosome Place for four consecutive months from May to August. Its payment volume, which stood at 121.19 billion won in May, plummeted to 100.39 billion won in June.

This was a drop of 20.8 billion won, or about 17%, in just one month.

However, after recovering to the 110 billion won range in July and the 116 billion won range in August, it rebounded to the 120 billion won range in September, continuing an upward trend for three consecutive months.

Previously, Starbucks Korea sparked controversy on May 18 by using the expression 'Tank Day' for a tumbler discount event.

As criticism spread that it was reminiscent of the martial law army's tanks during the May 18 Democratization Movement, the company immediately suspended the event.

Shinsegae Group dismissed the CEO of Starbucks Korea, and Chairman Jung Yong-jin issued a direct apology. At the same time, the company conducted historical education for employees and suspended the release of new summer products and promotional events.

Starting in July, it sequentially resumed the launch of new products and customer benefit programs.

This tally is an estimate based on credit and debit card payment data, and there is a difference from total sales that include Starbucks' own prepaid cards or mobile gift certificates.

(Reported by Sim Yeong-gu | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.