Despite Economic Downturn... Sales of Seol Gift Sets Increased

On the 7th, promotional assistants are showcasing Lunar New Year gift sets at the Lotte Department Store main branch in Jung-gu, Seoul. Lotte Department Store will hold the "2020 Lunar New Year Gift Set Main Sales Event" at all stores until the 23rd. They are selling 1,100 gift sets including wine, daily necessities, and processed products. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Despite the economic downturn, sales of Lunar New Year gift sets at department stores and marts have increased.

According to the distribution industry on the 26th, this year's Lunar New Year gift sets saw an overall sales increase compared to last year, with not only cost-effective "practical products" but also ultra-high-end premium products priced at hundreds of thousands of won showing increased sales.

Hyundai Department Store analyzed the main sales of Lunar New Year gift sets from the 6th to the 15th of this month and found that sales of small-pack sets increased by 13.1% compared to last year. This was attributed to the rise in single- and two-person households, making small-pack gift sets more popular than large-capacity ones.

On the other hand, during the reservation sales period for Lunar New Year gift sets from the 16th of last month to the 5th of this month, sales of premium gift sets increased.

During the reservation sales period, Hyundai Department Store sold 20% of the total quantity of premium products prepared, including the ‘Hyundai Premium Korean Beef Set’ worth 1.5 million won and the ‘Hyundai Premium Dried Yellow Croaker Set’ worth 3.5 million won. In particular, sales of gift sets priced over 1 million won increased by 22.4% compared to last year during the same period.

Shinsegae Department Store did not disclose specific sales figures but reported strong sales of high-end premium products. During the reservation sales period from the 16th of last month to the 5th of this month, 55% of the 20 sets of the 2 million won ‘Luxury Korean Beef Special’ were sold, and 70-80% of the 1.2 million won ‘Luxury Ranch Korean Beef Special’ and ‘Luxury Traditional Dried Yellow Croaker Special’ products were sold.

Lotte Department Store’s Lunar New Year gift set sales increased by about 3.5% compared to the same period last year, from the 30th of last month to the 16th of this month. In particular, the ultra-high-end wine set ‘Roman?e-Conti’ collection priced at 91 million won was sold at the Seoul Sogong-dong main store earlier this month, indicating strong sales of premium products.

Lotte Mart saw a 60.9% increase in sales of cost-effective jerky gift sets compared to last Lunar New Year. On Lotte.com, meat sets consisting of soup cuts or jangjorim (soy-braised beef) cuts priced under 100,000 won sold better than relatively higher-priced Korean beef grilling cuts.

Emart’s analysis of pre-reservation sales for Lunar New Year gift sets showed that the share of premium gift sets priced over 200,000 won doubled from 2017 to 5.1%. Sales of Korean beef gift sets priced over 500,000 won increased by 36% compared to last Chuseok.