This Pepero Day, Send Your Heart and Greetings 'Contactlessly'

Increase in Online Pepero Purchases Amid COVID-19 Spread
Distribution Industry Actively Engages in Contactless Customized Marketing

Pepero, Naver Gift Image

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] As non-face-to-face lifestyles have become normalized this year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the proportion of people purchasing or gifting Pepero through online transactions has increased ahead of Pepero Day on the 11th. Consumers are increasingly buying or gifting Pepero safely and conveniently online rather than at crowded offline stores. It also appears that more people are using the mobile 'Gift' feature to exchange gifts with acquaintances and friends without burden and safely.

According to SSG.com on the 10th, Pepero orders from the weekend of the 6th to the 8th, just before Pepero Day, increased by 12% compared to the same period last year. At Market Kurly, sales of desserts, cakes, chocolates, candies, and jelly products that can be gifted as alternatives to Pepero increased by about 10% compared to the same period last year. In particular, cake sales increased the most by 32%, and dessert sales also rose by 14%.

At Gmarket, sales in the snack category including Pepero also increased during the recent week from the 2nd to the 9th. Snacks and cookies/biscuits increased by 3% and 39% respectively compared to the previous week, and by 6% and 8% respectively compared to the same period last year. Chocolate sales increased by 33% compared to the same period last year.

Pepero Kkukka Limited Edition

In response to this trend, the distribution industry is also actively conducting online marketing. Lotte Confectionery expects the usage rate of online ‘Gift’ services to surge more than ever this year and has introduced a KakaoTalk-exclusive product, which can be considered a representative channel for ‘Gift’. This is a limited edition ‘Pepero X Kkukka’ collaboration planned with the flower subscription service company Kkukka.

The advantage of the ‘Gift’ feature is that you can easily send a mobile gift coupon by just knowing the recipient’s phone number. Since the recipient clicks the coupon and enters their own address to receive the package, it is convenient to send gifts without knowing the recipient’s address.

Besides KakaoTalk, Pepero can be purchased through the ‘Gift’ feature on various online malls such as Naver Shopping, Coupang, and Lotte ON. Since all of these send mobile gift coupons to the recipient’s phone, the giver only needs to enter the recipient’s phone number to send a gift.

Gmarket and Auction are offering Pepero and related products at discounted prices through Lotte Confectionery’s official mall, an official participant brand of Big Smile Day. Until the 12th, Lotte Confectionery is also providing overlapping discount coupons: Smile Club members receive 15% and 10% overlapping discount coupons, while general members receive 10% and 8% overlapping discount coupons. Discounts of up to 5,000 KRW per coupon are available.

Special price products include the ‘Pepero 12 Boxes and Monami Collaboration Package’ for 15,900 KRW, ‘Mixed Pepero 10 Boxes’ for 9,900 KRW, and the ‘Heart Pepero 24 Boxes Set’ with Pepero boxes shaped like hearts for 23,900 KRW. In addition, various chocolate snacks including Pepero are offered. A prize event is also underway. Until the 11th, customers who purchase the Pepero Monami collaboration limited edition product will be entered into a draw to win a stay at Seoul Lotte Signiel (1 person), engraved golden Monami premium pens (11 people), and more.

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