Increasing Health Foods and Online-Only Products... Shinsegae Department Store Launches Full Sales of Chuseon Gifts

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Shinsegae Department Store is launching the main sales of Chuseok gift sets.

According to Shinsegae Department Store on the 6th, sales from the Chuseok pre-order period held from August 24 to September 3 increased by 13.86% compared to last year's Chuseok. By category, beef (Korean beef) rose 47.3%, agricultural products 0.3%, health and tea 20.8%, and alcoholic beverages 81.8%.

Shinsegae Department Store explained, "This year, due to the late Chuseok, demand increased relatively more in the early stages of the event compared to last year. Although the harvest was poor due to unprecedented heavy rains and typhoons, we expanded the number of fruit and vegetable production areas from three to five to maintain the best quality and ensure stable supply." They also diversified customer choices with unique fruit set products. Representative products include Shine Muscat and Apple Mango sets (around 110,000 KRW), and Pure Apple, Pear, and Shine Muscat sets (around 140,000 KRW). Prices may vary depending on market conditions.

Additionally, following last Lunar New Year, demand for cost-effective products remains high, with gift sets under 100,000 KRW recording a growth rate of 25.7%. Sales of alcoholic beverages, red ginseng, health, and tea products also increased compared to last year.

Shinsegae Department Store will open special Chuseok pop-up stores at all locations starting from the 14th, offering 350,000 sets, which is 20% more than last year's total Chuseok volume, to actively sell Chuseok gifts.

With many customers interested in personal hygiene and immunity, the popularity of health food products is expected to increase further, leading to nearly a 20% increase in volume compared to last Chuseok. Representative products include the Etica Mask Comprehensive Set No. 1 (53,000 KRW), GNC Silver Health Set (104,000 KRW), and Ganggaesangin Red Ginseng Stick (48,000 KRW).

They will also introduce differentiated products for popular holiday gifts such as Korean beef and dried yellow corvina. Although raw material prices for livestock have risen by 20% compared to last year, premium Korean beef sales have significantly increased. Due to difficulties in interregional travel caused by COVID-19, the demand for premium Korean beef gifts as a token of gratitude appears to have grown. Representative products include the Motungiwoo Omakase Set (550,000 KRW), a collaboration with a Korean beef specialty restaurant, the luxury Korean beef Dabok (550,000 KRW), and the luxury Korean beef Obok (450,000 KRW).

For the first time, a dried yellow corvina set (10 fish) targeting small households will be introduced. Notably, the fish are fed with apple, citron, and green tea water to remove fishy odors and enhance umami flavor. The dried yellow corvina infused with apple, citron, and green tea are each sold at 200,000 KRW.

This year also marks the first introduction of gift sets for customers who want to prepare holiday meals conveniently and freshly. These include boneless hairtail (350,000 KRW) that can be cooked without special preparation, and a convenient red shrimp set (100,000 KRW).

During this pre-order period, online sales increased by about 51.3%, proving the popularity of untact (contactless) consumption. In line with this untact era, Shinsegae Department Store expanded the ‘Online Gift’ service through its shopping application to cover all Chuseok gift sets. The online gift service allows customers to easily send and receive gifts, and it is expected to attract many customers purchasing Chuseok gifts.

Choi Wonjun, head of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, “This Chuseok, as interregional travel decreases due to COVID-19, demand for cost-effective and premium gift sets is expected to increase. Also, as untact consumption becomes mainstream, we have increased online-exclusive products by 70%.”

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