Retail Industry Faces November in 'Silence'... "Calm Year-End"

US Black Friday and China Guanggun Festival... November was bustling domestically, but this year is quiet
Major retail channels cancel or significantly scale down large November shopping events
Shinsegae cancels SSG Day, Lotte minimizes Lotte Day... 'Smile' and 'Festival' event names changed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The distribution industry has entered a quiet November. Large-scale events have been canceled and marketing activities restrained during the mourning period for the Itaewon tragedy, with plans to maintain a subdued atmosphere thereafter. November is the biggest shopping season domestically, featuring major events such as the US Black Friday and China’s Singles’ Day. There were also expectations for a boost from the Qatar World Cup ahead of the December Christmas season this year, but the common consensus now is that it is a time to quietly pay respects above all else.

According to the distribution industry on the 1st, major online and offline retail channels including Lotte and Shinsegae have either fully canceled or significantly scaled down large shopping events in November. All related promotions and marketing have also been halted. Shinsegae Group canceled large events such as 'SSG Day,' which was scheduled to run from the 31st of last month to the 11th of this month. SSG Day is the largest annual discount event involving 19 affiliates of Shinsegae Group, including E-Mart, SSG.com, and Shinsegae Department Store. This year, they had put considerable effort into preparing over 2 trillion won worth of pre-planned joint products since April in conjunction with Gmarket’s 'Big Smile Day,' but decided to cancel all events considering the grave situation. Only events prepared by brands and sellers will proceed as exceptions. Gmarket and Auction renamed their Big Smile Day event to '12 Days of Gmarket·Auction Sale.'

Lotte also canceled all major marketing for the ongoing Lotte retail group discount event 'Lotte Day,' which started on the 27th of last month. Lotte Shopping stated, "We judged that suddenly stopping ongoing discount events, which are promises to customers, could cause more confusion, so we are quietly continuing them, but have completely suspended external events, marketing, advertising, and promotions such as the 'Belligom Summoning Event.'" 11st also plans to conduct its largest annual event, the '11th Festival,' as quietly as possible, changing the event name to 'Grand 11th.'

Year-end Christmas events, which were prepared on a large scale, have also been postponed or are being held in a more subdued atmosphere. Hyundai Department Store, which began Christmas decoration events on the 27th of last month, has temporarily suspended the 'Lightning Show' at The Hyundai Seoul following the Itaewon tragedy. Christmas carols have also been changed to more subdued songs. Lotte Department Store had planned to unveil the Christmas-themed decoration of its main store facade on the 3rd but has postponed it indefinitely.

The industry expects that the shock from the large-scale tragedy and the overall societal gloom will affect consumption for some time. Although the consumption environment remains challenging due to high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates, the distribution industry’s tension has increased as it prepares participatory events across online and offline channels ahead of the year-end consumption season, the first since the lifting of social distancing measures related to COVID-19. A distribution industry official said, "The gloomy atmosphere could be accelerated by concerns over the economy, such as the decline in retail sales in September and other indicators, but for now, it is a time to express deep condolences rather than consider other situations."

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