Due to the Resurgence of COVID-19... Card Companies Contemplating Chuseok Marketing Strategies

Government Likely to Conduct Minimal Marketing During Chuseok Holiday Special Quarantine Period Review

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prolongs, credit card companies continue to face challenges during peak marketing seasons. Amid concerns over a decline in card payment amounts due to the resurgence of COVID-19, they are conducting only minimal marketing activities.

According to the industry on the 7th, each credit card company is reviewing the timing and scale of Chuseok events. The government has recommended refraining from visiting hometowns and relatives during the Chuseok holiday to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and is considering applying social distancing measures equivalent to level 2 nationwide during the special quarantine period from the 30th of this month to the 4th of next month, which is the holiday period.

Currently, only some credit card companies have launched Chuseok events. Woori Card is running a 'Chuseok Season Merchant Event' until the end of this month. They offer discounts when purchasing Chuseok gift sets at online shopping malls such as Market Kurly and Wemakeprice, and provide gift certificates when buying gift sets at department stores and large marts. Hana Card is also conducting gift certificate giveaways and discount events when purchasing Chuseok gifts at Emart, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, and Nonghyup Hanaro Mart. In other words, they are conducting only minimal marketing for Chuseok.

Last year, not only gift purchase events but also fierce competition for airline ticket and hotel discounts targeting overseas travel demand took place. However, this year, airline ticket discount competitions targeting overseas travel demand have disappeared due to COVID-19. As sales in industries such as travel, duty-free shops, amusement parks, and movie theaters?where credit card companies fiercely competed in marketing?have significantly decreased, marketing expenses of credit card companies have also declined.

Credit card companies cannot give up marketing amid shrinking card payment amounts due to weakened consumer sentiment. According to data compiled from eight specialized credit card companies (Shinhan, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, BC, Lotte, Woori, Hana Card), the growth rate of individual credit card payments has slowed since the third week of August (17?23), when COVID-19 began to resurge. The total amount increased by 3.2% (316.9 billion KRW) compared to the same period last year (August 19?25), but offline consumption decreased by 3.3% (264.7 billion KRW) due to social distancing measures.

An industry insider said, "With the resurgence of COVID-19 causing a decline in card payment amounts and concerns over decreased sales, we cannot avoid marketing. We have no choice but to proceed with marketing according to government policies." Another credit card company official expressed concern, saying, "We suffered significant damage as we could not conduct large-scale marketing even during peak seasons like Family Month and vacation season, and we worry that this trend may continue through the holidays and until the end of the year."

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