"Camping Car, Golf Clubs, COVID-19 Prevention Sets... Changed Convenience Store Chuseok Gift Sets"

Convenience Store Chuseok Gift Sets Gain Interest... Offering Various Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] As concerns about COVID-19 resurgence lead more people to avoid crowded places, interest in convenience store Chuseok gift sets is growing. Convenience stores have launched a variety of Chuseok gift sets ranging from high-end camping cars and golf clubs to coffee sets.

CU is conducting a pre-order discount sale for Chuseok gift sets until the 18th of next month and is the first in the industry to sell auto camping cars. Due to the impact of COVID-19, consumers increasingly want to enjoy rest in private spaces, which has heightened interest in camping. The camping car introduced by CU this time is the flagship camping car from Auto Homes, a caravan specialist company, priced at 73.7 million KRW. In addition, various camping equipment such as the Auto Homes Camplet tent trailer (15.6 million KRW), folding table (659,000 KRW), Corelle Seca simple grill (88,000 KRW), and folding camping cart (30,900 KRW) were also showcased.

Furthermore, CU increased home economy keyword products by 39.2% compared to last Chuseok, targeting homebodies spending the short five-day holiday at home as social distancing has become routine.

For home cafe enthusiasts, CU prepared coffee and tea catering to aficionados’ tastes, including the tea ceremony kit (70,000 KRW) from Seongsu-dong’s famous matcha shop Super Matcha, Fritz Coffee Company’s home coffee set with beans and drip bags (22,500 KRW), and Hollys Coffee’s coffee collection (15,000 KRW).

Targeting home training enthusiasts, CU offered exercise equipment such as dumbbell sets (63,000 KRW), foam rollers (30,900 KRW), kettlebells (23,000 KRW), and gym balls (15,500 KRW), as well as home entertainment products like retro home game consoles (45,000 KRW) and games including Rummikub (38,000 KRW) and Halli Galli (19,000 KRW) for enjoying nostalgic games with family and friends.

CU expects a significant increase in consumers substituting gifts for direct visits to relatives this Chuseok and will provide free delivery service for about 330 products, which is over 30% more than last Lunar New Year.

Seven Eleven introduced new gift sets related to personal hygiene, quarantine, and health. They sell a ‘non-contact thermometer’ (89,000 KRW) that measures body temperature without physical contact using an infrared sensor, and ‘Aekyung Labsin hygiene sets’ in basic and premium versions (24,900 KRW / 49,900 KRW) consisting of hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, masks, and hand wash.

They also prepared products reflecting various trends such as home-cooked meals, home cafes, and home training that have spread due to COVID-19. Targeting the rapidly growing home meal replacement market driven by the popularity of home-cooked meals and the increase in single-person households, they launched differentiated products such as the ‘Kim Soo-mi Handmade Kimchi Set’ (44,000 KRW) containing six types of small-portion kimchi including young radish kimchi and mustard leaf kimchi, and the ‘Kim Soo-mi Special Seasoned Jeotgal Set’ (48,000 KRW) with pollock roe and squid jeotgal.

They also prepared ‘Premium Handmade Jeon Sets’ in two types (50,000 KRW, 100,000 KRW) and a ‘Holiday Table Setting Set’ (59,000 KRW) that allow easy holiday meal preparation without purchasing separate ingredients.

With the rising popularity of ‘chabak’ (car camping), they prepared the ‘Withmong Chabak Tent’ (590,000 KRW), which connects to the rear of a car. As outdoor activities like golf surge in popularity, related products were also prepared. They offer six types of golf equipment from specialized brands such as TaylorMade, Bridgestone, and Callaway, including drivers (369,000 to 429,000 KRW) and iron sets (799,000 to 949,000 KRW).

GS25 offers about 700 types of gift sets including premium fruit sets, meat sets, agricultural, livestock, and marine products, processed foods, alcoholic beverages, hygiene products, and health functional foods. Considering the national quarantine crisis, GS25 newly established a ‘Health Special Section’ for this Chuseok gift set and increased the variety of health functional foods by about 40% compared to the previous year.

Additionally, reflecting the spread of the untact trend, GS25 planned products for homebody and home ludens (a neologism referring to people who play and enjoy themselves at home) lifestyle trends such as treadmills, massagers, bedding sets, and aromatherapy products. Camping gear for camping and chabak enthusiasts who prefer non-face-to-face tourism, as well as dog hanbok and pet gift sets tailored to the era of 10 million pet owners, are also available.

Emart24 selected untact, health, and filial piety as this year’s Chuseok gift set keywords and prepared 223 diverse products, more than 50% increase compared to last Chuseok. Emart24 prepared free delivery for 162 types, accounting for over 70% of this year’s Chuseok gift sets amid the spread of untact consumption. The 162 free delivery items represent a 2.3-fold increase compared to last Chuseok.

Emart24 prepared all products for free delivery except about 30 types of alcoholic beverages that cannot be shipped, some canned goods, and hygiene products sold in stores. For canned goods, direct delivery to the desired location is possible when ordering 10 or more.

They also prepared a COVID-19 prevention set never seen before in holiday gift sets. The Aekyung Labsin set consists of masks, two hand washes, and hand sanitizer, priced at 24,900 KRW.

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