COVID-19 Spread Increases Home Staying... 'Premium' Home Appliances Trend

Breville Oracle Touch BES990. Photo by Breville

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has increased the time spent at home, more consumers are assigning value to their personal spaces and boldly investing in them. According to Shinsegae Department Store on the 17th, sales growth of home appliances in the first half of this year was 14.3%, an increase of 9.2% compared to the same period last year. Home shopping companies are also responding to the premium home appliance craze by doubling the number of premium home appliance programs compared to previous years.

Due to ‘forced staying at home’ and experiences with remote work, interest in products that allow people to properly enjoy their daily coffee has been hot. Australian premium home appliance brand Breville announced that its online sales in March, when the COVID-19 spread was at its peak, increased by 55% compared to March last year.

A Breville representative said, “The most inquiries are about semi-automatic coffee machine specifications for customers who want to enjoy cafe-quality coffee at home,” adding, “Interest in high-end coffee machine models has increased, considering various espresso variation drinks such as lattes.”

Bodyfriend Phantom Medical. Photo by Bodyfriend

As consumers tired of a stifling life show increased interest in healing, sales of healthcare home appliances are also growing rapidly. Bodyfriend announced that its sales in the second quarter of this year increased by 14% compared to the same period last year, setting a record high for quarterly sales. Despite its high price of 5.8 million won, the recently released ‘Phantom Medical’ accounted for 30% of total sales within just two weeks of launch. Phantom Medical is the first home healthcare medical device certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety that helps relieve neck disc, stenosis, and muscle pain. It works by traction, stretching, and acupressure on the user’s neck area using expanding and contracting air cells.

SK Magic Triple Care Dishwasher. Photo by SK Magic

Dishwashers, once considered secondary appliances, have now become essential home appliances. SK Magic revealed that dishwasher sales in the second quarter of this year increased by 30% compared to the previous quarter. In particular, the Triple Care dishwasher, released last January, is loved for its compact size and simple design. The Triple Care dishwasher is a third-generation dishwasher capable of washing, drying, as well as managing and storing dishes. The high-temperature, high-pressure water jets created by the wide moving washing blades that rotate while moving, the upper washing blades, and the rear washing nozzles thoroughly sterilize and clean the dishes.

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