The First Weekend of Donghaeng Sale... Duty-Free Stock and Fashion Bring Big Smiles

Baek, Two-Day Sales Up 21% Compared to Previous Week
Even Struggling Women's Fashion Smiled

On the 25th, when Lotte Shopping started offline sales for the duty-free luxury goods event, citizens hoping to make purchases lined up in front of Lotte Department Store in Nowon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] On the first weekend of the large-scale discount event 'Korea Together Sale,' aimed at overcoming the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and boosting national consumption, customer foot traffic continued in the retail sector.

According to Lotte Department Store on the 28th, total sales during the first weekend of the sale on the 26th and 27th increased by 21% compared to the same period last year, marking the largest growth since the COVID-19 outbreak in January. In particular, suburban outlets saw a surge in crowds, showing a 55% increase.

Especially in the women's fashion category, which had faced many difficulties, sales rose by 8%, rebounding sharply from the trends of -16% and -29% decreases in April and May, respectively. Fashion manufacturers conducted large-scale sales, and department stores increased consumer benefits by offering gift certificates and discount coupons, which seems to have elicited a positive response.

With outdoor activities relatively increasing recently, golf and outdoor categories grew by 26%, sports by 20%, showing favorable responses, and the entire men's fashion category also increased by 8%. The miscellaneous goods category grew by 6%, home appliances by 12%, while the food category saw an 18% decline.

The duty-free luxury goods fair attracted much attention as it was held at eight department stores and outlets nationwide. Including the pre-open period until the 27th, sales reached 5.3 billion KRW, consuming 60% of the prepared stock, and some popular items sold out early. Overseas luxury goods recorded steady sales, but thanks to this sale, sales increased by 93% compared to the previous week. This is analyzed as an effect of demand for duty-free shopping shifting to department stores due to difficulties in overseas travel. This sale was conducted as the Korea Customs Service temporarily allowed long-term inventory of duty-free goods to be distributed domestically.

Meanwhile, Lotte Mart saw a 7.2% increase from the previous week from the 25th to the 27th, when the Together Sale began. Many customers visited stores as various fresh foods were offered at affordable prices, with fruits, vegetables, and livestock product categories increasing by 6.4%, 3.3%, and 13.6%, respectively.

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