South Korea

In 2020, South Korea experienced an economic shock caused by COVID-19 pandemic containment measures. Successful health crisis management, the creation of the RCEP trade bloc, and the Korean New Deal programme will help the country rebound strongly in...

In 2020, bars had to temporarily close due to strict social distancing measures enforced by the government as a result of the pandemic. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency classified bars as a high-risk area of operation since COVID-19 ...

In 2020, consumer foodservice recorded an overall negative performance as three major waves of COVID-19 hit the country, which affected consumers’ overall lifestyle shifts. The South Korean Government raised social distancing levels several times ...

After bars/pubs, street stalls/kiosks was one of the most negatively affected channels within consumer foodservice in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 and social distancing measures, as its outlets are mainly located in central areas such as ...

COVID-19 negatively affected a number of consumer foodservice channels, especially those that function as a place for social gatherings. Although some lost sales were recovered through online deliveries and increased spending in restaurants due to ...

Independent self-service cafeteria’s performance was negatively affected in 2020 due to a decrease in food traffic caused by the emergence of COVID-19 and subsequent social distancing measures, especially in central business districts and shopping ...

Limited service-restaurants remained relatively unshaken in 2020 despite the challenges that many other consumer foodservice players faced during the year due to the decline in foot traffic in outlets. Although overall consumer foodservice in South ...

In 2020, standalone consumer foodservice outlets were the least affected by the pandemic due to their proximity to residential areas. Since third party delivery apps connect the closest outlet with consumers when the order is being placed, standalone...

South Korea remains one of the most attractive destinations to do business in, thanks to its stable financial sector, great infrastructure, tech-savvy population and skilled workforce. The country also directs significant funds towards increasing its...

Department stores saw a steep drop in sales in 2020 due to COVID-19. Sales of outlets located outside the Seoul metropolitan area took the biggest hit because of reduced traffic to brick-and-mortar stores during the lockdowns. Lotte department ...

South Korea’s homeshopping industry has shown a stable performance over the past years as the channel becomes mature. Shrunken consumer sentiment over spending on non-essential goods due to COVID-19 hit the sales of homeshopping in 1Q 2020, followed ...

Hypermarkets saw a decline in sales in Q1 2020 due to reduced foot traffic affected by social distancing and reduced business days as a few outlets had to be closed for disinfection purposes as some visitors tested positive for COVID-19. However, the...

The South Korean government gave a COVID-19 relief fund to all households with Korean citizenship to boost consumer spending during the first half of 2020. The amount varied depending on the number of household members (KRW1 million for four-person ...

The impact of COVID-19 on South Korea’s retailing industry varied by channel in 2020. Like many other countries, the growth of e-commerce accelerated in 2020 as the channel acquired a wider consumer base during the early outbreaks of COVID-19 in ...

Traditional grocery retailers saw a steep decline in sales in Q1 2020 when social distancing measures were introduced across the country. Consumers were reluctant to shop in these retailers as they were concerned about their hygiene; however, as the ...

The e-commerce channel recorded the strongest growth in 2020 among retailing channels in South Korea as consumers’ lifestyles changed due to COVID-19, which accelerated the adoption of online shopping among a wider consumer segment, especially older ...

The apparel and footwear specialist channel saw a steep decline in demand in 2020 as consumers tightened spending on discretionary products, forcing companies to operate in emergency mode. For instance, LF Group reduced the salaries of its top ...

Variety stores have traditionally relied on brick-and-mortar outlets more than the e-commerce channel due to the nature of the products, namely the small unit price and value per transaction. The channel was highly impacted during the first phase of ...

During the second wave of COVID-19 which happened throughout Q2 and Q3 2020, hundreds of COVID-19 infection cases were found in relation to face-to-face social gatherings organised by few direct sellers, especially in provinces. The South Korean ...

As several outbreaks of COVID-19 hit the nation, foot traffic declined to a great extent, resulting in further decline for the vending channel in 2020. For instance, the number of passengers using public transport decreased by 30% during the first ...