Gmarket, 'Travel Live Broadcasts' Popular Amid Endemic and Peak Travel Season

Travel Live Broadcast Reaches 4.8 Million Visitors
High Preference for Live Streams Due to Real-Time Consultation Availability

Online marketplace Gmarket announced on the 3rd that over 4.8 million customers turned on live broadcasts (hereinafter referred to as live streams) this year to search for overseas travel products. The surge in travel demand due to the endemic situation appears to have influenced the increased preference for live streams, which allow real-time consultations.

From January to July this year, Gmarket conducted 24 overseas travel live streams, recording a total transaction amount of 5.7 billion KRW. This means that each broadcast generated an average sales revenue of over 200 million KRW. Compared to the same period last year (January to July 2022), the transaction amount increased more than fourfold (338%). Especially during the peak travel season, demand for live streams increased, achieving over 2 billion KRW in transactions with just four broadcasts in July alone. The cumulative number of visitors (UV) over seven months exceeded 4.88 million, and page views (PV) surpassed 6 million.

The most popular travel destination in the live streams was ‘Danang’. The ‘Danang Marriott Package/Airtel’ product broadcasted in July recorded transactions exceeding 480 million KRW within one hour of the broadcast, and total sales on the day of the broadcast exceeded 800 million KRW, marking the highest performance in the history of travel live streams. Although the Marriott hotel stay product was priced high, the special discount offered during Gmarket’s ‘Travel Big Festa’ promotion at the time was effective in driving sales. On that day’s live stream, benefits such as room upgrades and full-body stone massages were also given as gifts.

The second most popular travel destination was ‘Guam’, where the ‘PIC Gold Card Free Travel’ product sold in July achieved daily sales exceeding 700 million KRW. Third place was ‘Saipan’ (PIC/Kensington 4-day/5-day trips, total sales over 500 million KRW), fourth was ‘Australia’ (6-day/7-day Sydney tour, total sales of 300 million KRW), and fifth was ‘Japan’ (Hokkaido cruise, broadcast in April, total sales of 190 million KRW).

Reflecting this customer demand, Gmarket launched a travel-exclusive live broadcast program called ‘NolleogaG’ in March and strengthened related content. ‘NolleogaG’ has become a popular segment, conducting a total of 16 broadcasts through July this year, with cumulative views (PV) reaching approximately 4.5 million. On the 3rd, a live stream for ‘Guam PIC Gold Card Travel’ will be held. Purchase certification benefits include a raffle for club room upgrades, providing a Sheheki Waterpark pack for all accompanying children, and half-price discounts on Gmarket Guam rental cars. Future plans include △August 10 Sydney tour products △August 17 Nha Trang Swandor accommodation package products △August 24 Phu Quoc vs. Nha Trang pool villa free travel products.

Lee Jae-ho, head of Gmarket’s travel business team, said, “The popularity of travel live streams lies in the ability to immediately resolve questions about products through real-time chat and directly communicate with the show host.” He added, “Especially for intangible services like ‘travel,’ the demand for live streams is growing because customers can hear explanations directly from experts and share reviews.”

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