Domestic Duty-Free Shops April Sales 1.5574 Trillion KRW... "Highest Since COVID-19"

On the 24th, the duty-free shop at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport is quiet due to the impact of COVID-19. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Domestic duty-free shop sales in April exceeded 1.5 trillion KRW, marking the highest level since February last year when the impact of COVID-19 began.

According to the Korea Duty Free Association on the 1st, domestic duty-free shop sales in April reached 1.5574 trillion KRW, an 8.6% increase compared to 1.4347 trillion KRW in March. Foreign sales accounted for 1.4795 trillion KRW, or 95.0%, while domestic sales were about 77.9 billion KRW, approximately 5%. Foreign and domestic sales increased by 8.2% and 15.7% respectively compared to the previous month. This is the highest level since February last year when the COVID-19 impact began.

For domestic customers, demand increased due to non-landing sightseeing flights and other factors. The number of domestic users has gradually increased from 284,356 in January this year to 413,978 in February, 507,246 in March, and 573,761 in April. The industry expects the number of domestic users in May to increase further as the number of airports and flights for non-landing sightseeing flights has increased.

The number of foreign users, whose share has grown amid the COVID-19 situation, slightly decreased compared to the previous month. It dropped from 51,282 in March to 50,353 in April. Most were Chinese peddlers, and the average spending per person increased compared to the previous month.

The industry noted that although foreign purchase amounts increased due to demand for in-flight duty-free goods, the number of users actually decreased, indicating that the COVID-19 situation continues. To attract high-spending foreign customers, competition among companies through discounts remains intense, so profitability is expected to be closely monitored.

This record is still far below pre-COVID-19 levels. In January last year, just before the full impact of COVID-19, the number of domestic duty-free shop users was 3.84 million, and sales amounted to 2.0248 trillion KRW. Since the sharp decline in sales due to the COVID-19 crisis, sales have remained in the range of 1 to 1.5 trillion KRW without breaking out of this box.

A duty-free industry official said, "We expect the sales improvement trend to continue for the time being," adding, "the vaccine distribution situation is promising," but we are cautiously monitoring the situation as there is still a possibility of sudden changes, such as China strengthening its domestic protection policies or the COVID-19 situation worsening further."

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