Gyeongbuk Province Supports Online Promotion for 100 Promising SMEs

The structure of the domestic consumer and distribution market has undergone significant shifts due to COVID-19. With changes in consumption patterns, the focus of distribution is moving from offline markets to online markets.

According to the "April 2023 Major Retailers Sales Trends" announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, sales of online retailers in April increased by 3.2% compared to the same month last year.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

The sales composition ratio by business type was 48.3% online, 18.3% department stores, 17.1% convenience stores, 13.6% large discount stores, and 2.8% semi-large stores (SSM).

As the online market size continues to grow, Gyeongbuk Province is proactively responding to the rapidly changing consumer and distribution market trends by operating the "Gyeongbuk Sale Festa Online Sales Channel Support Project" year-round.

This project offers various marketing policies ranging from basic education necessary for entering the online market to sales channel development, targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that face difficulties in market development and promotion despite having excellent technology and products. Support includes marketing education, channel entry, product development, promotional content production, regular planned exhibitions, and special discount events.

Gyeongbuk Province partners with various distribution channels such as open markets, comprehensive malls, employee malls, and direct purchase services.

Currently, through partnerships with 12 channels, it collaborates with the most distributors among local governments to secure sales networks and strengthen marketing for SMEs.

The partners Gyeongbuk Province works with include Coupang, Wemakeprice, TMON, Korea Post Shopping, Gongyoung Shopping, SSG.com, Market Kurly, 11st, Interpark, Oasis, Naver (newly partnered in 2023), and SK Jayeonirang, totaling 12 channels.

Oasis, with which a business agreement was signed last April, had only 126 Gyeongbuk companies on its channel before the agreement in 2021, but this number increased by 183 companies in one year, reaching 309 companies in 2022?more than double. Sales also showed strong growth, rising from 11 billion KRW before the agreement to 21.6 billion KRW last year.

To provide support aligned with the latest promotional trends, the specially planned "Online Promotion Support Project" received great popularity, attracting 164 companies applying for 100 spots from the 18th to the 31st of last month.

After screening, Gyeongbuk Province plans to select 100 SMEs and support them by allowing each company to choose one of three content types: short-form promotional video production, product exposure through SNS influencers, or consumer experience product reviews.

Yoon Hee-ran, Director of the Corporate Support Division at Gyeongbuk Province, said, "To create a Gyeongbuk where SMEs have no worries about sales channels, we will secure various distribution partners, understand the rapidly changing market conditions, and play a leading role in revitalizing the regional economy through strategic marketing support tailored to corporate needs."

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