South Korea

While overall volume sales in menstrual care in South Korea may have shown a slight dip in 2023, a dynamic transformation is quietly unfolding. Closer examination reveals a notable surge in the demand for alternative products such as tampons,…

Menswear continues to post healthy current value sales growth, as South Korea fully entered an endemic era from May 2023. Followed by the lifting of social distancing measures in 2022, the South Korea government lifted the mask mandate in April 2023…

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…

Retail volume sales of smartphones declined in 2022, and this is set to continue in 2023. In 2021, sales of smartphones saw a dynamic volume increase, partly due to a rebound from the 2020 fall in sales, when COVID-19 disrupted the production and…

In 2023, the government reformed its electric vehicles subsidy plan, considering factors like price, vehicle performance, warranty infrastructure and battery energy. This is set to boost the electric vehicle market, especially favouring local brands.…

In the face of persistent declines in the birth rate, companies within nappies/diapers/pants in South Korea are confronted with unique challenges. To counteract these demographic hurdles, businesses are strategically leveraging the premiumisation…

While overall smoking prevalence among the adult population continues to slowly decline in South Korea, demand for NRT smoking cessation aids is further falling, in line with pre-pandemic trends. NRT smoking cessation aids lost consumers’ interest…

Oral care saw even stronger current value growth in South Korea in 2023 than in the previous few years. Consumer awareness of oral hygiene continues to grow, contributing to the healthy growth of the category in this year. Most categories within oral…

Overall sales of other dairy products are set to continue to decline in both retail volume and current value terms in 2023. Amongst the various categories within dairy products and alternatives, other dairy was the least affected by the pandemic’s…

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,…