Wipes in South Korea

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Wipes benefit from focus on hygiene in 2019 but concerns remain regarding chemical content and microplastics

Baby wipes and general purpose wipes posted good growth in 2019 due to a growing focus on hygiene. Even though the birth rate remained low and the number of babies decreased further in the year, baby wipes performed well as a result.

Fast delivery, low prices and wide range support e-commerce as major distribution channel in 2019

E-commerce dominated the distribution of wipes and continued to gain share in 2019. This channel benefited from swift delivery times, with many e-commerce players offering same-day delivery service.

Domestic players dominate despite growing private label competition

Domestic players continued to account for a large share of sales in 2019. KleanNara remained in the lead but lost share gradually as competition intensified.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Sales of wipes are now expected to grow by 3% in 2019 constant value terms in 2020 overall in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to a 1% rise forecast in 2019 constant value terms in our 2020 edition of tissue and hygiene published in February 2020 (pre-COVID-19).

Affected products within wipes

Most product areas in wipes are expected to see good value growth at constant 2019 prices in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic encouraging consumers to focus on hygiene and clean surfaces, hands and faces more frequently. General purpose wipes will see a good performance for hand disinfectant wipes, with convenient on-the-go packs being introduced by many players in 2020.

Recovery and opportunities

Wipes is expected to see a good value growth at constant 2019 prices in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers sanitising more frequently in the hope of preventing the spread of the virus. Despite this, the forecast period is expected to see considerably slower growth overall in comparison to the review period.

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