Increased Home Shopping Sales Due to 'Corona19'... Food and Home Appliances Up

Increase in Home Shopping Sales Due to COVID-19 Spread

- Purchasing Food and Home Appliances via TV at Home

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Home shopping sales are increasing due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). As people participate in 'social distancing,' they are purchasing food and home appliances through television at home. In particular, the purchase proportion of consumers in their 50s and 60s has risen.

According to the home shopping industry on the 13th, Lotte Home Shopping saw a 361% surge in sales of daily necessities from February 19, when 15 confirmed cases were reported at the Shincheonji Church in Daegu, until March 11, compared to the same period last year. Daily necessities include hand sanitizers, yellow dust masks, laundry and kitchen detergents, and toothpaste.

Sales of home appliances such as electrolyzed water generators, laser sterilizers, dryers, and clothing care devices, as well as processed foods like ready-to-eat meals, also increased by 304% and 275%, respectively.

On the other hand, sales of cultural services such as insurance, rental cars, and performances decreased by 51% compared to the same period last year.

CJ ENM O Shopping sold over 11,000 items within an hour during the special Bibigo event by CJ CheilJedang on the 11th. Sales of health functional foods and home appliances are also on the rise. Considering the growing interest in immune enhancement, CJ ENM O Shopping is expanding its lineup of health functional foods such as 'Saessakbori' (young barley), 'Jungkwanjang,' and 'probiotics.' Additionally, the lineup of health management appliances like air purifiers, dryers, and stylers is increased by about 20%.

CJ O Shopping’s T-commerce channel, CJ O Shopping Plus, is expanding its general food categories to meet consumer demands. It offers a variety of products across different categories such as 'BBQ Whole Chicken Drumsticks,' 'Kim Na-woon’s Prepared Hairtail,' and 'Big Mama Lee Hye-jung’s Small Beef Soup.'

Hyundai Home Shopping showed similar sales trends by product category. During the same period, general food sales surged by 126.2% compared to the previous year. Sales of health foods (61.1%), fashion (41.2%), and kitchenware (22.1%) also increased. Hyundai Home Shopping’s overall sales grew by 12.3%.

A Hyundai Home Shopping official said, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, more customers are having meals at home, leading to remarkable growth in sales of food and kitchenware," adding, "The purchase proportion of customers in their 50s and 60s increased by about 10% compared to last year."

Accordingly, home shopping companies are changing their programming schedules to focus on best-selling items. Since February 28, home shopping channels have suspended travel product programming. Demand for leisure and sportswear products has also decreased, reducing programming by 40% compared to the same period last year. Conversely, programming for hygiene-related daily necessities, health foods, and ready-to-eat meals has increased by about 1.5 to 2 times.

The reason home shopping sales are growing among distribution channels is that most consumers prefer not to leave their homes due to concerns about COVID-19 infection. In particular, home shopping has encouraged customers to open their wallets by allowing them to be introduced to products and interact while shopping. In fact, as a result of Lotte Department Store launching 'Live' through its online shopping mall Lotte Premium Mall, air purifiers and styler products sold 100 million won worth in one day. 'Live' is a broadcast where hosts and influencers introduce and sell products in real-time from the department store at 12 PM and 3 PM daily, similar to TV home shopping.

A home shopping industry official said, "We expect first-quarter results this year to show slight growth compared to the same period last year," adding, "Unlike offline distribution channels, we believe home shopping is the least affected by COVID-19."