Young investors in South Korea are getting into gold buying 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 their stores.
The KOMSCO gold bars, 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 they continue to be a top seller.
Another convenience store chain, GS Retail Co, began testing gold wafer bar vending machines in their stores in 2022, and now has them in all of their 30 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.
It’s being reported that younger demographics, particularly those in their 20s and 30s are seeking 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.
In the United States, millennials allocate roughly 17% of their investment holdings in gold, either in ETFs, mining stocks and physical gold bullion bars.
Some attribute this to younger generations seeing the stock market as a rigged system, along with concerns for the possibility of a recessions.
The South Korean economy has been suffering from high inflation, with retail prices of grocery store staples up as much as 20%.
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 the same period last year, representing a sharp increase.
Many US consumers have grown wary of the economy and high inflation have been buying gold bars from Costco.
It’s mainly the more affluent Americans who can afford to spend $2,400 on the 1 oz PAMP Suisse gold bars while stocking up on dog food and toilet paper. However, a large assortment of fractional gold bars from online precious metals dealers that are available at price points that are more affordable.
Several companies have attempted gold bar vending machines in locations 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 dispenses Goldback notes.
