Chuseok Gift Polarization 'Clear'... Buying Premium and Cost-Effective Items

Department Store and Large Mart Advance Reservation Sales Up
Both Luxury and Practical Products Popular

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Polarization is becoming evident in the early reservation sales of Chuseok gift sets recently launched by the distribution industry. Following last year, demand for premium gift sets remains high this year, while on the other hand, ‘cost-effective’ gift sets are gaining popularity due to weakened consumer sentiment amid high inflation.

According to Shinsegae Department Store on the 12th, sales from early reservation of Chuseok gift sets from the 1st to the 10th of this month increased by 70.9% compared to the same period last year. By price range, sales of gift sets under 100,000 KRW rose by 21.1%, those between 100,000 KRW and 200,000 KRW increased by 50%, and those over 200,000 KRW grew by 48.4%. During the same period, at Hyundai Department Store, sales of gift sets priced between 100,000 KRW and 300,000 KRW rose by 75.8%, and those over 300,000 KRW increased by 83.5%. In particular, with this year’s earlier Chuseok, demand to prepare holiday gifts in advance surged, causing consultation requests to more than double compared to last year.

Employees are introducing the Chuseok premium hairtail and Yeonggwang salted yellow corvina sets at Hyundai Department Store Trade Center branch in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Department stores expanded both volume and variety of premium gifts such as Korean beef and dried yellow corvina as more customers sought them. Shinsegae Department Store increased the quantity of 5-star Korean beef gift sets priced over 1 million KRW by 70% compared to last year. Representative products include The No.9 (2.5 million KRW), a luxury Korean beef set made from the highest marbling score ‘No.9’ cuts of 1++ grade Korean beef, and the Special luxury Korean beef set (2 million KRW), carefully selected from the rarest premium cuts of 1++ grade Korean beef. Hyundai Department Store prepared 75,000 Korean beef gift sets, a 15% increase from last year. The quantity of ultra-premium gift sets over 1 million KRW increased by 50%, and the number of product types rose from 5 to 6.

Similar trends appeared in large supermarkets. According to E-Mart, early reservation sales of Chuseok gift sets from the 21st of last month to the 10th of this month grew by 194.9% compared to last year. This figure reflects the effect of an extended early reservation period by about 9 days compared to last year. By price range, sales of gift sets under 50,000 KRW increased by 179.2%, those between 50,000 KRW and 100,000 KRW rose by 406.6%, between 100,000 KRW and 200,000 KRW by 246.0%, and over 200,000 KRW by 256.9%.

E-Mart expanded its ‘Limited Deal’ gift sets priced under 50,000 KRW to 11 types, three times more than the 4 types offered last Chuseok. Limited Deals are priced up to 40% lower than regular gift sets through bulk purchasing and prior stockpiling. Three health food products are sold via joint funding purchases, allowing customers to buy at up to 75% discount once the minimum funding number per product is met. An E-Mart official said, “This Chuseok early reservation significantly expanded practical gift sets in line with social concerns about high inflation. Customers will be able to purchase high-quality Chuseok gift sets at reasonable prices.”

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