Young investors in South Korea are getting into buying gold bars because it’s easy and accessible in vending machines in convenience stores.
CU, the country’s largest convenience store chain, partnered with KOMSCO, the national mint, to offer fractional gold bars in its stores.
The KOMSCO gold bars, which range in size from as small as 1/10 of a gram to as large as 1.8 grams, have caught the attention of millennials and continue to be a top seller.
Another convenience store chain, GS Retail Co, began testing gold wafer bar vending machines in its stores in 2022 and now has them in all 30 of its stores throughout the country.
The in-store program launched on April 1, and 42% of the original sold within the first 15 days. One-gram gold bars with personalized messages sold out in only two days.
Korean media reports that younger demographics, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, seek a reliable store of value given the growing geopolitical tensions. Similar demographics in China have been buying gold beans, which are small blobs of gold with similar weight to the bars sold in Korea.
The economy in South Korean has been suffering from high inflation, with retail prices for grocery store staples up as much as 20%.
United States Retail Gold Bars
In the United States, millennials allocate roughly 17% of their investment holdings to gold, either in ETFs, mining stocks, or physical gold bullion bars. Compared with older generations who typically allocate 10%.
Some attribute this to younger generations seeing the stock market as a rigged system and concerns about the possibility of recessions.
According to the World Gold Council, investor demand for gold coins and bars increased by 27 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to last year’s period, representing a sharp increase.
Many US consumers have grown wary of the economy, and high inflation has bought gold bars from Costco.
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It’s mainly the more affluent Americans who can afford to spend $2,400 on the 1 oz PAMP Suisse gold bars from Costco while stocking up on dog food and toilet paper. However, a large assortment of fractional gold bars are available from online precious metals dealers at more affordable price points.
Several companies have attempted to install gold bar vending machines throughout the United States. The Gold To-Go vending machine, popularized by its location at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, had additional locations in Boca Raton, Florida, New York City, NY, and Atlantic City, NJ.
Today, GoldATM operates a network of vending machines in four states that dispense Goldback notes.
