Department Store Live Broadcast, But Why Is Minister Park Young-sun Appearing There?

Collaboration Broadcast Appearance by Ministry of SMEs and Lotte Department Store,
Galleria Department Store's First 'Off-White' Live Broadcast Attracts 22,000 Viewers

On the 16th at 7:30 PM, Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups (center), appeared as a seller in a broadcast collaboration between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' live commerce program "Value Day" and Lotte Department Store's "100 Live," communicating with viewers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] "Ga: We have prepared as many diverse products as possible. Chi: We have prepared meticulously. De: There are many reliable products you can enjoy daily. I: Now join us with Value Day."

When Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, effortlessly created an acrostic poem, viewers cheered with comments like "Such great sense, today's broadcast is a hit."

The Minister as a Show Host and the Department Store Showing the Entire Luxury Hall

At 7:30 PM on the 16th, Minister Park Young-sun appeared on a live broadcast prepared by Lotte Department Store. In a collaboration between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' live commerce 'Value Day' and Lotte Department Store's '100 Live,' Minister Park personally took the stage as a seller of Chuseok gift sets made by small business owners and masters. On this day, Minister Park conducted a 15-minute live broadcast with the host and master Gi Soon-do, evaluating the taste of products and naturally communicating with viewers. After tasting master Gi Soon-do's gochujang and rice sikhye, Minister Park actively promoted them, saying, "You can feel the taste of nature," and "It tastes like a mother's warm heart." When a viewer commented, "You look tired," she replied, "I was at the National Assembly all day answering government inquiries, then rushed here." When asked to read comments, she held her phone close and said, "I can't see the letters well," which led viewers to cheer, "Honest minister, so cool." When asked, "What product do you want to buy the most here?" she said, "It's too hard to choose," adding, "The abalone looks delicious, and the quality of the meat looks good." Minister Park's appearance drew over 8,000 viewers to the broadcast that day.

At 9 PM, Galleria Department Store held its first live broadcast at the 'Off-White' store. Since it is considered the most preferred luxury brand among people in their teens and twenties, 8,000 viewers were waiting even before the broadcast started. Fashion model Irene and broadcaster Seo Kyung-hwan, who served as hosts, began the broadcast in front of the main entrance of the Galleria luxury hall, then entered and introduced major brands on the first and second floors while moving around. Within 15 minutes of starting the broadcast, the number of viewers surpassed 15,000. The Off-White belt was surprisingly discounted to half price during the broadcast, and the response was explosive. When the 1.54 million KRW 'Mohair Knit' was revealed for the first time in Korea, viewers exceeded 22,000. Comments included "Eye candy live broadcast," "Today is the day to flex," and "Off-White full purchase complete." As of 9 AM on the 17th, the cumulative views reached 27,000.

On the 16th at 9 PM, the first live broadcast was held at the Galleria Department Store's 'Off-White' store. Fashion model Irene and broadcaster Seo Kyung-hwan, who served as hosts, are explaining the brand in front of the store.

Next-generation Growth Engine in the Distribution Industry: Live Commerce

Live commerce is a compound word of live streaming and e-commerce, an online channel that sells products through real-time video. Sellers introduce products by directly experiencing them during the broadcast, and viewers communicate through comments. Consumers can purchase products by accessing the links displayed at the bottom of the broadcast. The two-way communication differentiates it from home shopping. As the number of people shopping non-face-to-face increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, distribution companies have competitively utilized 'live broadcasts.'

Department stores conduct 'live broadcasts' two to five times a week. The number of viewers ranges from 500 to a maximum of 20,000, with an average of around 1,000 viewers. Sales per broadcast range from 2 million to 10 million KRW. Lotte Department Store launched its own live broadcast '100 Live' at the end of last year. As of the end of August, the number of live commerce users at Lotte Department Store increased by 658% compared to January. Sales surged by 1,066%. The cumulative number of views exceeded 600,000. Since the 14th, Chuseok gift sets have also been sold through live broadcasts. The average number of users per broadcast ranges from 5,000 to 10,000.

Hyundai Department Store has been operating 'Department Store Window Live' through the Naver channel since March. Recent broadcasts with Lacoste and O’2nd recorded sales of 40 million KRW and 30 million KRW, respectively. Hyundai Department Store also provides training to cultivate 'live commerce' experts. Galleria Department Store launched the live broadcast 'Unboxing Galleria' on the 16th. Shinsegae Department Store established 'Mindmark,' a commerce-specialized content production company, with an investment of 26 billion KRW at the end of April, and subsequently acquired broadcasting program production companies Silkwood and Studio329.

The reason distribution companies are focusing on live commerce is to secure future customers. Their strategy is to build channels where people in their teens and twenties are active and attract them. Moreover, 'live commerce' is regarded as the 'future sales channel' following the online market. With the activation of non-face-to-face shopping after COVID-19, the growth of live commerce is expected to accelerate.

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