South Korea

In 2022, the relaxation of pandemic-related restrictions, including the easing of social distancing rules, heralded a significant shift in local consumers’ behaviour. With a newfound freedom to venture outdoors, a growing number of individuals opted…

In 2023, the number of debit cards in circulation in South Korea continues to gradually decline following a steady upward trend over 2019-2021. The decline is primarily underpinned by two fundamental factors; namely the declining teenage population…

The landscape of card transactions in South Korea is undergoing a remarkable transformation marked by a gradual decline in cash usage. This paradigm shift is primarily driven by the widespread adoption of mobile financial services, a trend that has…

In 2022, South Korea witnessed growth in both the issuance and usage of pre-paid cards in line with greater mobility outside of the home. Shinhan Card, in particular, played a role in driving this growth, reporting a remarkable increase in the retail…

Store cards in South Korea is experiencing a trend of stagnant growth. Despite the enduring appeal of store cards and their unique set of benefits, the growth rates in both 2022 and 2023 feature stabilisation rather than substantial expansion.…

Instant coffee has been experiencing continuous retail current value declines, which are set to continue in 2023. The first factor contributing to this decline is the increasing trend of “home café”, or creating café-like experiences at home, whereby…

Hot drinks is set to see decline in retail volume terms and a stagnant performance in retail current value terms in 2023. Tea is set to see the best performance, maintaining current value growth, while coffee is set to see stagnancy due to the…

Although expected to see another year of retail current value decline in 2023, chocolate-based flavoured powder drinks continues to dominate other hot drinks. These are seasonal beverages, and as a product with limited diversification in taste,…

Tea is set to maintain growth in current value terms in 2023, with this expected to be driven by fruit/herbal tea. Consumers are looking for non-caffeinated tea as an efficient way to provide hydration. This is leading to growing sales of…

The briefing examines how the steel commodity is performing globally and in the largest countries in terms of supply and production. The report also provides data and analysis on steel price dynamics, as well as trends across key commodity consuming…

Air treatment products in South Korea is exhibiting a mixed performance. Cooling appliances are mostly experiencing positive demand due to global warming and exceedingly hot summers in the country, whereas air purifiers and humidifiers are…

Retail volume sales of major appliances are declining in 2023, albeit by a slower rate compared to 2022, attributed to inflation and consumers’ constrained budgets. During the pandemic, demand for many consumer appliances experienced an unprecedented…

Retail volume sales of dishwashers in South Korea are marginally declining in 2023 for a second consecutive year. This can be attributed to subdued consumer sentiment due to economic stability, which is resulting in many South Koreans refraining from…

Retail volume sales of food preparation appliances are declining for a second consecutive year in 2023. This is a trend evident across the category, with juice extractors experiencing the steepest decline. This is being driven by several factors, but…

Demand for home laundry appliances is growing in 2023 following a marginal dip in retail volume sales the previous year. The category’s performance is mainly attributed to a significant increase in demand for automatic dryers, while retail volume…

Demand for large cooking appliances continues to experience decline in 2023, resulting from economic instability and a real estate slowdown that has persisted from the previous year. Local consumers are choosing to continue using their existing large…

South Korea experienced a 3.7% inflation rate in September 2023, the highest in five months since April. This increase follows a peak inflation rate of 6.3% in July 2022, which then gradually decreased to 2.3% by July 2023. As the cost of living…

As pandemic-related social distancing regulations have been largely lifted in South Korea, and consumers have resumed activities such as returning to the workplace, there has been increasing demand for personal care appliances. The return to normalcy…

Retail volume sales of refrigeration appliances continue to decline in 2023, following the trends of a post-pandemic era, inflation, and reduced consumer spending. The volume decline is not as steep as the previous year, and overall demand remains…

Economic instability is reducing consumer spending on non-essential items such as small cooking appliances. Consumers are concerned about their financial situation and have become increasingly conscious of their expenditure, reducing their propensity…

Retail volume sales of vacuum cleaners as a whole are falling in 2023, despite another dynamic performance by robotic vacuum cleaners with robust double-digit volume and value growth. Standard vacuum cleaners are relatively mature in South Korea,…

The briefing examines how the pulp commodity performs globally and in the largest countries in terms of supply and production. The report also provides data and analysis on pulp price dynamics, as well as trends across key commodity-consuming…

While reducing food waste and recycling are well-established green habits, many consumers are apathetic, believing their actions make no difference. This creates opportunities to focus on actionable sustainable claims and campaigns, highlighting…

Demand for bottled water in South Korea is set to continue to rise in volume terms both off-trade and on-trade in 2023. Throughout the pandemic, buying bottled water for home consumption became a habit. Consumers who had previously purchased bottled…

Overall carbonates is set to see dynamic off-trade volume growth in 2023. However, concerns about the dangers of the overconsumption of sugar are driving consumers towards healthier variants. Increasing numbers of consumers are concerned about the…

For a second year, overall concentrates is set to see little movement in off-trade volume sales, with just a slight decline expected, as marginal growth for powder concentrates is offset by slight decline for liquid concentrates. Liquid concentrates…

Energy drinks is set to see dynamic double-digit off-trade and on-trade volume growth in 2023. On-trade sales were hit hard by the pandemic, and despite strong growth, sales are not expected to return to the 2019 level in 2023. However, the off-trade…

Juice has long been experiencing a decline in its popularity, with off-trade volume sales falling for over 10 years, and this set to continue in 2023. Once synonymous with a premium image, juice has lost customers to freshly squeezed juice due to its…

The era of the “3 Highs” – high-interest rates, high inflation, and high oil prices – led to the rise of RTD (ready-to-drink) coffee as a popular alternative to expensive coffee shops. This trend prompted both traditional coffee beverage companies…

RTD tea is set to see minimal growth off-trade volume growth in 2023. However, vastly difference performances are expected across categories. For instance, whilst regular still RTD tea is set to see a negligible decline, reduced sugar still RTD tea…

Growth is expected to continue in soft drinks in both off-trade and on-trade volume terms in 2023. However, products that are perceived as healthier, such as bottled water, kombucha, and reduced sugar carbonates, amongst others, are expected to see…

After seeing an off-trade volume decline in 2020 in the first year of the pandemic, sports drinks returned to dynamic growth, and this trend is set to continue in 2023, with sales far exceeding the pre-pandemic level. Recovery has been driven by an…

This analysis explores the trends in the business services industry, assessing its performance in major global economies. It covers essential data such as production metrics, market size, import and export figures, industry expenses, profitability…

This briefing examines how the high-tech goods industry is performing globally and in the largest countries in terms of high-tech goods output. The report also provides data for production, market size, imports, exports, industry costs, industry…

In early 2023, as the South Korean government fully lifted COVID-19-related restrictions and entered the endemic era, international travel fully reopened. As consumer spending has largely shifted to international travel, the growth of bags,…

Ongoing high inflation and economic difficulties have been discouraging consumer spending on luxury products and discretionary items, including jewellery. Nonetheless, despite the expectation of a slight decline in retail volume terms, in current…

Continuing high inflation and financial constraints derived from the unstable global economy have discouraged consumer spending on discretionary items, which is set to result in slower retail volume and current value growth for personal accessories…

While in 2022 sales of traditional watches posted strong double-digit current value growth, driven by consumers’ high demand for luxury goods, 2023 is set to witness a strong slowdown in growth, as the unstable global political and economic…

The official end of the pandemic in 2023, and the full resumption of offline classrooms in schools and extracurricular academic institutions has been continuing to support students’ demand for stationery, and is also expected to sustain the retail…

Packaging trends in South Korea showcase a dynamic landscape, driven by consumer preferences and environmental concerns. In the realm of gift-giving, there is a growing inclination, especially among the younger demographic, towards European fruit…

Specialist coffee and tea shops is a mature category in South Korea, but continued to show dynamic growth in 2023. Previously, players in specialist coffee shops changed high unit prices, but advances in coffee machines led to standardisation of…

In 2023, the significant growth in sales of drive-through outlets was noteworthy. This method of fulfilment showed a triple-digit growth rate during COVID-19 in 2020, and still sustained double-digit current value growth in 2023. From a corporate…

Despite optimistic expectations of rapid recovery in consumer consumption following the COVID-19 pandemic, transaction growth in overall consumer foodservice in South Korea experienced a slowdown in 2023, exacerbated by prolonged inflation. The…

Traditional buffet-style family restaurants faced significant losses during COVID-19, due to concerns about close contact with many people. In particular, chained Korean buffet brands such as Season’s Table, which were popular amongst…

In alignment with the trends observed in 2022, the majority of limited-service restaurants (LSRs) witnessed a surge in menu prices during 2023, which was attributed to the repercussions of escalating raw materials costs and labour expenses. In 2023,…

In 2022 and 2023, independent self-service cafeterias demonstrated double-digit growth in retail value sales. The primary driver behind this success was the popularity of local Korean cuisine buffets, which provide a rich variety of options, and…

In 2023, tanghulu (sugar-coated fruits on a bamboo skewer) emerged as the most prominent snacking mega-trend in the entire food industry in South Korea. The popularity of tanghulu began with mukbang YouTubers who focused on ASMR content, creating…

In 2023, air care witnessed moderate single-digit growth in current value terms, due to the shifting perspective of air care as a component of self-care, particularly among the younger generations. This signifies a departure from viewing air care…

In 2023, bleach experienced another year of moderate volume and current value growth, driven by factors such as inflation and heightened awareness of hygiene and cleanliness in the post-pandemic era. Demand for disinfectant bleach remains steady in…

Dishwashing witnessed notable current value growth in 2023, propelled by a surge in demand for automatic dishwashing products and a modest increase in current value sales of hand dishwashing. Urbanisation in South Korea is expanding the number of…