South Korea

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.…

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…

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…

Despite Korea recording the world’s lowest fertility rate in 2022, childrenswear saw increases in both retail volume and current value terms, as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in the first half of 2022. Children also started returning to school in…

The home seclusion trend as a result of the pandemic saw greater demand for furniture, as consumers paid greater attention to their living environments and home décor. Unfortunately, this did not benefit furniture polish, which recorded further…

The lack of mobility due to COVID-19 restrictions negatively impacted sales in the vending channel in 2020. While the threat of the pandemic remained relevant in South Korea in 2021, a gradual relaxing of restrictions meant that many educational…

Offline sales growth remains sluggish at hypermarkets, with this store type struggling due to a consumer shift to online shopping and the government’s operating restrictions. The disappointing sales performances in recent years have therefore been…

Compared to the dynamic growth rates recorded by automatic dishwashing in 2020 and 2021 at the height of the pandemic in South Korea, which saw many local consumers spend prolonged time at home, working remotely and cooking more frequently, retail…

As most COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in April 2022, the majority of people who worked from home started going into the office again, and people started spending more time outside the home in general. The fear of COVID-19 lessened in 2022, but…

Retail tissue was very little impacted by COVID-19 in South Korea. There was barely any stockpiling, and only a few delays in terms of delivery. Therefore, compared with other countries, which saw a high number of deaths and people panic-buying…

While healthy retail current value growth is expected for staple foods in 2022, comparable to that seen when the pandemic hit in 2020, retail volume sales are set to see a slower increase than value sales, due to unit price increases. The raw…

Sales of breakfast cereals are expected to continue their growth trajectory in retail current value terms in 2022, with growth backed by price increases for grains, resulting from issues in global supply chains. However, while all categories are set…

In South Korea, direct selling players experienced a challenging year in 2020 when the pandemic first hit the country, with sales well down on a year earlier. In spite of seeing a partial recovery from 2020’s declines, the channel failed to fully…