On Birthdays, 'Cake'; When Sick, 'Vitamins'... Mobile Gifts Penetrating Daily Life

Shinsegae Food's 'Beccaria Enubo' Cakes Sell 10,000 Units in One Month on KakaoTalk
Starbucks, SPC, and Others in Food Industry Expand Mobile Gift-Only Product Lineups
Millennials Prioritize Contactless Convenience... High-End Products Worth Millions Also Popular

Shinsegae Food's Beckia Enubo Rare Fromage Cake.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Centered on the millennial generation that pursues convenience and ease, the trend of sending gifts via mobile for acquaintances' birthdays or anniversaries is spreading, leading to active movements by food companies aiming to capture the mobile gifting market.

According to the industry on the 23rd, last year the annual transaction amount of the mobile gifting service 'KakaoTalk Gift' surpassed 3 trillion KRW. The KakaoTalk Gift market size has rapidly grown every year, starting from 30 billion KRW in 2011, 100 billion KRW in 2012, 1 trillion KRW in 2017, and exceeding 2 trillion KRW in 2018. The most popular products are undoubtedly food-related categories such as cafes, bakeries, and chicken. These practical gifts are popular because they can be given and received at affordable prices. Among the top 10 best-selling items, six are food products, and the growth of food categories is also prominent in delivery products besides store exchange vouchers. According to Kakao, the transaction amount in the food category grew by 85% compared to the previous year in 2018, emerging as a new opportunity for the food industry.

Shinsegae Food's 'Beccia Enubo' frozen cake, launched in November last year as a mobile gifting exclusive product, sells more than 300 units daily on average. It surpassed 10,000 cumulative sales within a month. Considering that major franchise bakeries sell about 15 to 20 cakes daily on average, this is a considerably high figure. The company explained that this popularity is due to the ability to conveniently gift premium dessert products that were previously only available at the Italian restaurant 'Beccia Enubo' stores. Unlike exchange vouchers that require visiting offline stores to pick up products, the convenience is enhanced because the recipient can enter the delivery address, and the cake is shipped directly to that address, which is also analyzed as one of the reasons for its popularity.

A Shinsegae Food official said, "Sales of mobile gifting cakes in January increased by more than 20% compared to the previous month, and there are many inquiries about exclusive product development not only from KakaoTalk but also from other online malls," adding, "We plan to focus on capturing the mobile gifting market by expanding the product lineup to premium and cost-effective options according to consumer demands."

Starbucks expanded its KakaoTalk Gift product lineup from about 170 items in March 2018 to around 200 recently. They are busy preparing specialized products with high demand. SPC Group is also increasing gifting products across its dining brands. Dunkin' increased from 62 items in December 2018 to 90 recently, and Samlip diversified from 100 to 120 items. The specialized product launched by Samlip last November, consisting of a mini humidifier shaped like a steamed bun steamer and 12 steamed buns, caused a sell-out frenzy within an hour, gaining great popularity.

The distribution industry is also actively working to expand sales through the mobile gifting market. TMON launched its gifting service last November. All of TMON's special price products can be easily gifted by just entering the recipient's phone number. SSG.com also expanded and reorganized its gifting service into a dedicated section last month. It offers a wide range of products from mobile vouchers to department stores, E-Mart, and Traders products. 99% of the products sold on SSG.com are traded through the gifting service.

High-priced products are also gaining popularity. Last month, the most popular items on SSG.com were luxury cosmetics. In addition, home appliances priced between 1 million and 4 million KRW and luxury bags priced between 2 million and 3 million KRW are also being traded. This indicates that millennials do not hold the perception that high-priced products must be seen in person before purchase.

An industry official said, "The ability to convey feelings by entering only a phone number instead of a complicated address, along with the non-face-to-face (untact) environment where you do not have to see the other person, is leading millennials to online gifting," adding, "As companies are competing to strengthen product competitiveness, the mobile gifting market is expected to continue explosive growth this year as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.