[Population Decline Hits Industry] Main Target Group Disappearing... Home Appliance Companies Targeting Plants and Animals

The Main Buyer Group 'Mom and Dad' Shrinks
Expanding Target Range from MZ Generation to Senior Demographic

‘Headquarters~ Headquarters~’ In a 1997 mobile phone commercial, the national actor Ahn Sung-ki shouts ‘Headquarters’ toward his phone when faced with a crisis. The phone recognizes the word and automatically calls the headquarters. Born in 1952, Ahn was in his mid-40s at the time. The figure who appeared most frequently in mobile phone ads in the 2000s was Lee Hyori. In the mid-2000s, the so-called Hyori phone and Garobonung phone craze swept the market. Born in 1979, Lee Hyori was in her mid-20s then. Nowadays, many idols promoting smartphones are teenagers. There is a strong correlation between the age group of mobile phone users and the age of the models. What was once an expensive business tool in the early days of mobile phones has now become so common that even elementary school students carry one each.

IVE's Jang Wonyoung is attending the Galaxy Unpacked event held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 26th. Photo by Jang Jinhyung aymsdream@

The situation is similar for home appliances, which were previously mainly purchased by moms and dads. As one- and two-person households increase, the age group buying home appliances is expanding to younger generations. TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and other home appliances that used to be found one per household in homes where three generations?grandparents, parents, and children?lived together have diversified in terms of purchasing age groups due to the rise of nuclear families and the increase in one- and two-person households.

As South Korea’s total population began to decline from 2020 due to low birth rates, the electronics industry is also facing a spreading crisis. Concerns are growing that companies unable to adapt to the changing demographic structure may be left behind. If they continue to rely solely on the wallets of the household heads?moms and dads?as in the past, a decline in sales due to population decrease is inevitable. Companies are encouraging individuals to purchase products that were previously bought per household and are launching new products that serve as companions in line with the trend of single-person households.

The purchase of electronic products is likely to decrease in the future. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s population statistics by age, the population of people in their 40s was 8.07 million at the end of 2022, down from 8.83 million ten years earlier. The population of people in their 30s, who show strong purchasing power as they start their social lives, also sharply declined from 8.16 million in 2012 to 6.61 million at the end of 2022.

Marketing in the electronics industry is moving toward broadening the consumer age groups. On the lower end, innovative products targeting the MZ generation and marketing through pop-up stores and experience zones are being launched, while on the upper end, strategies to expand high-end premium products and healthcare appliances targeting the senior demographic with purchasing power are being pursued.

Samsung Electronics opened ‘Samsung Gangnam,’ an experiential flagship store with a playground concept in the heart of Gangnam, where young people gather, in June last year. Visitors can enjoy Samsung products as if playing, experiencing and interacting with them. This is Samsung’s first experiential store in Korea. Since 2022, LG Electronics has set up about 30 pop-up stores and complex cultural spaces to provide young people with opportunities to experience products and services. Representative examples include ‘Geumseong Arcade,’ which recreates the atmosphere of old arcades using LG OLED TVs, and the ‘ThinQ Escape Room Cafe,’ which integrates LG ThinQ app functions into an escape room cafe.

As the target age group expands, the variety of products is also increasing. New small home appliances responding to demographic changes with increasing one- and two-person households are being released one after another. Representative examples include the Samsung Bespoke Cooker, which combines microwave, grill, air fryer, and toaster functions into one machine; the LG StanbyME, which allows users to move the TV to any desired location; and LG Styler Shoe Case and Shoe Care, shoe management solutions for the MZ generation. Products and services that did not exist before, such as ‘LG Tiun’ and ‘Samsung Pet Care Store,’ targeting one- and two-person households with strong attachment to pets and plants, are also gaining popularity. In other words, growth has become possible only by deploying home appliances for plants and animals as the population decreases.

Single-person households reached a total of 9.72 million at the end of last year, accounting for 41% of all households. In 2012, single-person households numbered only 6.73 million. Two-person households also increased from 4.02 million in 2012 to 5.74 million in 2022. An industry insider explained, “In the past, home appliances were representative items mainly purchased by newlyweds or moms and dads, but now, as the demographic structure changes, the consumer base is spreading widely both upward and downward. This is why the home appliance industry is deploying a wide range of product lines and marketing strategies targeting everyone from the MZ generation to seniors.”

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