Domestic Duty-Free Store Sales Recover to 1.7 Trillion KRW in November... "Concerns Over Further Contraction in December"

On the 9th, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, citizens are waiting to be tested at the testing center set up in the outdoor space on the west side of the basement level 1 of Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Last month, domestic duty-free shop sales in South Korea recovered to the 1.7 trillion KRW mark. Thanks to the impact of With Corona (gradual return to normal life), it recorded the second-highest performance since the COVID-19 outbreak, but as the spread of COVID-19 has become serious again, the industry is once again facing difficulties.

According to the Korea Duty Free Shop Association on the 30th, November domestic duty-free shop sales amounted to 1.7629 trillion KRW, an 8.59% increase compared to 1.6235 trillion KRW in the previous month. Since the COVID-19 impact intensified in February last year, sales exceeded 1.7 trillion KRW in November following September this year (1.7657 trillion KRW). However, compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, the performance is still low. After sales halved from 2.0248 trillion KRW in January last year to 1.1026 trillion KRW in February, monthly sales at domestic duty-free shops have remained in the range of 1 to 1.7 trillion KRW.

In November, sales and visitors from both foreigners and locals increased. The number of visitors rose due to the With Corona effect starting in November, and cosmetics, which account for a large portion of sales, had seasonally higher unit prices, contributing to the sales increase. Foreigners’ sales were 1.667 trillion KRW, up 8.61% from 1.5349 trillion KRW the previous month. Foreign visitors also increased to 58,966 from 51,503 the previous month. Local sales also rose 8.35% to 96 billion KRW from 88.6 billion KRW the previous month. Visitors increased from 625,338 in the previous month to 680,539 in November.

However, the industry expects domestic duty-free shop performance, which showed a temporary recovery due to With Corona, to decline again this month. With daily COVID-19 cases surging again and the added risk of the Omicron variant, the duty-free industry’s outlook is bleak. An industry official said, "The atmosphere that had just started to ease has shrunk again, and this mood is expected to continue for some time, deepening the industry's worries," adding, "We hope that next year’s duty-free purchase limits and duty-free allowances will be raised."

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