[News Terms] My Precious Child 'VIB'

Increase in High-Priced Kids Premium Consumption Amid Low Birthrate
Linked to Aging Society and Ten-Pocket Phenomenon

In the context of ultra-low birth rates, the term ‘VIB’ has emerged. VIB stands for 'Very Important Baby.' It is modeled after VIP (Very Important Person), meaning 'very important person.' The ‘VIB group’ refers to parents who devote attention and spend a lot of money on their young children, mainly MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) parents with Alpha generation children born after the 2010s.

According to the '2023 Birth Statistics' released by Statistics Korea on the 28th, the number of newborns last year was 230,000. This is a decrease of 19,200 (7.7%) compared to 2022. The number of first-born children decreased by 6,600, down 4.6%, and second-born children decreased by 9,600, down 11.4% compared to 2022. The proportion of first-born children reached 60.2%, entering the 60% range for the first time. This appears to reflect the social atmosphere of 'having only one child and raising them well.'

A citizen holding a baby is receiving counseling / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Consumption trends have also changed accordingly. Premium spending on kids’ products is increasing. According to the Korea Fashion Market Trend Yearbook, the domestic children’s clothing market size was 1.1281 trillion KRW in 2023. This is an increase of 400 billion KRW (33%) from 847 billion KRW in 2009. Compared to the domestic fashion market size, which grew from 40 trillion KRW to 45 trillion KRW (a 5 trillion KRW or 12% increase) during the same period, the growth rate of the children’s clothing market is very high. While the number of births is rapidly declining, the children’s clothing market has actually grown.

The driving force behind the growth of the domestic children’s clothing market is foreign luxury brands. In fact, at major department stores, the sales growth rate of children’s luxury goods over the past five years has significantly outpaced the overall sales growth rate of children’s clothing and products. According to Hyundai Department Store, the overall children’s sales growth rate in 2021 was 34.8%. In contrast, children’s luxury sales approached 88.5%. Although this can be seen as a result of the COVID-19 boom, the children’s luxury sales growth rate has since exceeded 25%.

Hyundai Department Store introduced the French luxury brand 'Baby Dior' at its Apgujeong main store last year. It also opened 'Fendi Kids' and 'Moncler Enfant' stores at its Pangyo branch. This led to increased sales. Recently, a 'Baby Dior' store was additionally opened at the Pangyo branch. Shinsegae Department Store shows a similar pattern. The growth rates of kids’ luxury goods at Shinsegae Department Store were 29% in 2021, 24% in 2022, and 15% in 2023. Shinsegae Department Store was the first to introduce kids’ luxury goods in Korea in 2022. Lotte Department Store’s kids’ luxury growth rates were 30% in 2021, 55% in 2022, and 10% in 2023.

Furthermore, this consumption trend naturally aligns with the characteristics of Korea’s aging society. As economically capable grandfathers and grandmothers increase, they spare no expense for their precious grandchildren. The ‘Ten Pocket’ phenomenon also fuels premium spending on kids. ‘Ten Pocket’ means that children have ten pockets. In other words, it refers to the ‘Eight Pocket’ phenomenon, where eight adults?including parents, paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, aunts, and uncles?take money out of their pockets for one child, with additional relatives and acquaintances joining in, sparing no expense for the child.

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