[Report] "Expecting a Coupon Boom", "Not Much Increase" - Mixed Reactions from Business Owners on Consumer Coupons

[Financial News] "It's the first day today, so no one has used the coupons yet, but if more people receive them, won't they come to our store?"
On the morning of the 22nd, Lee Eun-young (59), who runs a Korean restaurant in Seocho-gu, Seoul, said this as the distribution of livelihood recovery support coupons began. Having been in business for over 10 years, she said, "Business is so bad that sales seem to have dropped by about 20% compared to the same period last year," and "I hope that if we receive the support coupons, many local residents will use them, increasing sales."
She plans to attract passersby by letting them know that the restaurant is a place where coupons can be used. After preparing lunch and during a quiet time, she plans to receive a 'Livelihood Recovery Consumer Coupon Usage' sticker from the community center and put it on the door, looking hopeful.
On this day, in the food alley of Seocho-gu and optical shops, academies, cafes, etc., there were stores that had received and attached stickers to their entrances the previous day. This is to attract customers who will use the coupons from the moment they open.

The government started accepting the first applications for consumer coupons on the 21st and distributed them to the entire nation from today. Coupons can be used at stores with annual sales under 3 billion won, such as restaurants, supermarkets, optical shops, and hair salons. In the case of franchise stores like convenience stores and coffee shops, they are only available at franchise outlets. Stores opened this year can use the coupons regardless of sales size.
Bed specialist Ace Bed is conducting a special promotion, stating that the livelihood recovery consumer coupons can be used at 115 out of 122 nationwide agencies, excluding department stores and directly managed stores.
At the entrance of the Ace Bed agency visited on this day, a large sticker indicating it as a coupon usage place was attached. Ban Seong-hoon (46), who runs the Ace Bed Gwangjin branch, one of the usage places, said, "Since beds are expensive, it may be difficult for coupon distribution to directly lead to consumption," but also positively noted, "When a family of four gathers all the support money, they can buy a super single, and those who were already thinking of buying a bed might add the support money to their purchase."
Some expressed concerns about how effective temporary consumer coupons would be amid an economic downturn. Park Mi-sook (60), who has been running a hair salon in Bangbae for 25 years, said, "Nowadays, many people solve dyeing at home by themselves," and "As the economy is so bad, it seems that people have the mindset to save money as much as possible, and even if coupons are distributed, I wonder how many customers will come to the hair salon to get a haircut right away."
She added, "Since Chuseok is approaching, it seems people will save money to use where needed," and "While coupon distribution is good, as a small business owner, rent is the most burdensome, so it would be nice if policies that can be felt immediately, such as lowering the rent cap or providing rent support, are prepared."
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, on the first day of the livelihood recovery consumer coupon application on the 21st, 6,975,642 people, or 13.8% of the total eligible applicants, completed their applications. The total payment for the applications on the 21st amounts to 1.2722 trillion won.

kaya@fnnews.com Choi Hye-rim Shin Ji-min Reporter