South Korea

Two key players in South Korea's online travel agencies are Yeogi Eottae and Yanolja, which both began as OTAs focused on lodging in the country. However, they are continuously expanding their businesses beyond this sector to include different travel…

Air Premier is an airline which initially launched in 2017. Unlike full service and low cost carriers, Air Premier is positioned as a "hybrid airline". Full service carriers are known to offer various airfares, but tend to be perceived as premium,…

In 2022, the tobacco industry in South Korea experienced surprisingly strong current value growth. While cigarettes in South Korea saw a slight retail volume decline, this became much more moderate compared with pre-COVID-19 years, and value sales…

Gardening became a popular hobby in South Korea during the pandemic, as consumers sought to be close to nature. All gardening categories grew in current value terms in 2022 compared to the previous year, and saw demand in both current terms and at…

Supermarkets have been losing sales to other grocery retailers in recent years, with convenience stores evolving into “mini supermarkets”, with the increasing introduction of grocery products, and hypermarkets winning over supermarket shoppers by…

As the impact of COVID-19 continued to linger in South Korea, demand for bleach continued to rise in 2022, as local consumers focused on sterilising and disinfecting their homes to prevent infection. The South Korean government issued an official…

Sportswear surpassed the pre-pandemic level of sales in current value terms in 2021, and maintained its growth momentum in 2022, despite the surge in inflation, seeing a similar value increase as in the previous year. While inflation increased the…

Menswear surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of sales in both volume and current value terms in 2021, and continued its increasing momentum in 2022, despite the surge in inflation, with even higher growth than in the previous year. While inflation…

After it saw declines in 2020 due to COVID-19, jeans rebounded in retail volume and current value terms in 2021. However, it took a further year of growth, seen in 2022, to reach the pre-pandemic levels of sales, with growth continuing for both men’s…

Total volume growth of wine in South Korea notably slowed in 2022, with wine sales reaching a period of stabilisation following the category’s dynamic performance through off-trade during the first year of the pandemic, and through on-trade in 2021.…

In 2023, snacks in South Korea is set to experience growth in retail current value terms, although inflation is a factor influencing this performance. In addition, the end of the pandemic brought about various product innovations across different…

E-Mart established the discounters channel in 2016 with the launch of its No Name banner. It was looking for further growth opportunities as the growth of hypermarkets, the company’s core business, had gradually plateaued. Since the launch of its No…

In 2021, womenswear was able to rebound fully from the declines seen during the pandemic in 2020 in both retail volume and current value terms. Nevertheless, growth continued in 2022, as people continued updating their wardrobes with new clothing.…

Headphones recorded another year of strong retail volume growth in 2022, driven by the dominant TWS earbuds category, and although demand for wireless earphones continued to fall rapidly, wireless headbands also saw a solid positive performance. The…

After experiencing significant declines during the pandemic due to the mandatory mask-wearing regulation, gum is expected to witness a rebound in 2023, following the complete lifting of the mask mandate. In 2022, despite the easing of the mask…

As COVID-19 restrictions have lifted in South Korea and consumers are returning to their daily routines, demand for sunglasses has recovered in 2023, with the category also recording a third consecutive year of double-digit current value growth.…

Fragrances saw dynamic growth during the pandemic. With less use of colour cosmetics such as lip products due to mask-wearing, consumers spent more on fragrances to treat themselves and differentiate. Despite this, fragrances maintained solid volume…

In 2022, the full lifting of social-distancing measures and the outdoor mask mandate helped both retail e-commerce and retail offline post healthy sales growth rates in this year. Among retail offline channels, department stores was one of the most…

For the last two years, people were stuck at home working, and went out only if necessary. However, COVID-19 restrictions were eased in April 2022, and people gradually started going back to their normal lives. Hosiery, as a necessary item when going…

Raffle was one of the most successful marketing methods in South Korea across all fashion categories in 2022, gaining significant traction amongst millennials and gen Z in particular. The products raffled are limited editions, and everyone has a fair…