"Thanks to Increased Gift Value for Agricultural and Marine Products" ... Shinsegae Department Store Achieves Record Lunar New Year Sales

Increase in Premium Gift Orders Instead of Visiting Hometown

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shinsegae Department Store announced on the 7th that sales of Lunar New Year gifts from the 4th of last month to the 5th of this month increased by 51.3% compared to the same period last year, achieving record-high results.

Shinsegae explained that this was due to the government temporarily raising the allowable gift amount for agricultural and marine products from 100,000 won to 200,000 won, and the non-face-to-face Lunar New Year trend leading to increased demand for sending premium gifts instead of visiting hometowns.

By category, sales of health and tea products increased by 58.2%, followed by agricultural products at 53.3%, meat (Korean beef) at 51.8%, alcoholic beverages at 48.4%, and seafood at 45.4%.

In particular, there was high demand for agricultural and marine gift sets priced between 100,000 and 200,000 won. Representative examples include 'Anseong Matchum Hanwoo Happiness (130,000 won)', 'Shinsegae Sodam Apple/Pear Set (140,000 won)', and 'Suhyup Special Selection Gulbi Obok (150,000 won)', with sales of gift sets over 100,000 won roughly doubling compared to last year.

As more customers sought premium gift sets, sales of 'Luxury Hanwoo Dabok (550,000 won)', composed of top-grade Korean beef strictly managed from production to origin by Shinsegae, increased by 39%, and 'Suhyup Yeonggwang Chamgulbi Happiness (300,000 won)' also sold 78% more.

Online sales of gift sets also showed strong growth, increasing by 67% compared to the same period last year, with fresh fruit sales rising 78.8%, livestock 65.4%, and seafood 49.9% year-on-year.

With hygiene and immunity more important than ever due to COVID-19, responses to health functional foods were also enthusiastic. Sales of red ginseng sets, from children's red ginseng products to red ginseng nuts, increased by 59% compared to last Lunar New Year, and sales of fresh ginseng raw material sets also rose by 43%.

Choi Won-jun, head of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, "As the allowable gift amount for agricultural and marine products increased and more people express their feelings through gifts, many customers sought premium sets. We will continue to discover products that match trends to capture customer demand."

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