South Korea

The number of Korean households is projected to grow slowly over 2021-2040, fuelled by growing numbers of single person households. Koreans enjoy high disposable income per household in regional terms. However, South Korea lags behind other developed...

COVID-19 revitalised the overall consumption of ice cream and frozen desserts as people were spending more time at home, which consequently led most of the major domestic and local manufacturers to record positive growth in 2020. Typically, ice cream...

Snack bars continued its strong growth during the pandemic period. As for cereal bars, impulse purchases for on-the-go consumptions shrank, especially at convenience stores in the early pandemic stage. However, demand successfully picked up later in ...

The pandemic successfully brought the consumption of savoury snacks into the home realm as consumers spent increased time at home during the lockdown. While the leading consumers of savoury snacks used to be the younger generations, COVID-19 also ...

While experiencing plummeting retail sales in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, sugar confectionery is set to slowly start its rebound in 2021. However, due to continued regulations on wearing a face mask, offerings positioned as a mouth ...

The gum industry will continue its downward trajectory in 2021, after an unexpected plunge in 2020 due to COVID-19. Despite an expectation that wearing face masks would boost gum sales to relieve bad breath, the uncomfortableness in consumption while...

The pandemic changed traditional chocolate consumption patterns in South Korea. In general, the sales season of chocolate confectionery are mainly focused on the winter season due to Valentine’s Day, as almost half of the total sales typically occur ...

In 2021, COVID-19 continued to affect the lifestyles of South Korean consumers as vaccinations for adults in the 15-64 age group are only planned for roll out from the third quarter of the year. Although, schools have returned to offline courses, ...

In South Korea, sunglasses experienced the sharpest decline in 2020 among eyewear categories as a direct result of travel restrictions and reduced social activities. Limited possibility for overseas travel however, benefited the local sunglasses ...

The category experienced a strong contraction in 2020 as reduced face to face social interaction culminated in lowered usage of contact lenses, usage of which is more expensive to maintain than spectacles. Moreover, as no online purchases are allowed...

Despite being considered across most markets as an “essential service”, most optical shops were operating at a much-reduced capacity during 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, addressing only essential eye care needs. This weakened the performance of ...

In personal accessories, luxury brands performed relatively well in 2020 and 2021. There are several reasons for this one of which is polarisation. Many consumers continue to demand luxury items from legacy luxury houses such as Rolex watches and ...

In early 2020, couples postponed or cancelled weddings as COVID-19 created considerable uncertainty around the world. However, by 2021 people have been becoming accustomed to the new normal which includes social distancing and pared down life events ...

The decimation of social activities driven by COVID-19 slowed demand for jewellery in 2020 although growth is set to recover in 2021. This will be particularly driven by fine jewellery as leading luxury brands are increasing their retail prices. ...

Lifestyle changes driven by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated polarisation in consumer spending with this trend being particularly apparent in bags and luggage given the discretionary nature of these products. During 2021, consumers were...

Writing instruments is expected to record some recovery as schools resumed offline classes from the start of the new academic year in March 2021. Fountain pens is expected to achieve the slowest growth in 2021 due to the maturity of the category ...

South Korea enjoys economic freedom. However, its volatile northern neighbour has a destabilising effect, although relations are improving. Solid handling of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could result in the economy to rebound, whilst a major ...

Tobacco free oral nicotine was not present in South Korea in 2020. There was little consumer interest or awareness of this area which prevented substantial development from taking place....

While sales of cigarettes in South Korea had seen continuous declines since 2017 due to the impact of higher tobacco taxes and strong anti-smoking policies in the country, the pandemic caused 2020 to experience unexpected growth. A shift of duty-free...

Heated tobacco products experienced an increase in demand in South Korea in 2020. With big names such as Juul and Lil Vapor discontinuing sales in late 2019, many liquid-type e-cigarette users shifted to heated tobacco in 2020....