Even Vacations Affected by the Monsoon... Retail Industry's Lifeline During Chuseok Peak Season

Marketing Launch This Week, 10% Increase in Reservation Volume for Large Mart Gift Sets
Department Stores and Online Exclusive Products Expand

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Retailers, whose vacation season sales were ruined by record-breaking monsoon rains, are putting all their efforts into selling 'Chuseok gift sets.' The Chuseok season, along with Lunar New Year, is the biggest sales period of the year for the retail industry. Retailers, anticipating reduced travel and increased demand for gifts during the holidays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting avoidance of face-to-face contact, have increased inventory and enhanced benefits.

According to the retail industry on the 10th, large supermarkets have increased their Chuseok gift pre-order quantities by 10% compared to previous years. The event period has also been moved up by 5 to 6 days. Lotte Mart and E-Mart will conduct pre-order sales of Chuseok gift sets for about 40 days starting from the 13th. The pre-order items include a total of about 700 products: 218 types of fresh foods such as Korean beef and fruits, 238 types of processed foods such as canned goods and cooking oil, and 76 types of health functional foods. Lotte Mart offers gift certificates worth up to 1 million KRW during the Chuseok gift set pre-order period. L.POINT members receive discounts of up to 30%.

Homeplus, which is conducting pre-order sales until the 18th of next month, has launched its largest-ever lineup with about 450 products. It offers up to 30% discounts to My Homeplus members and customers paying with 12 major event cards. Gift certificates worth up to 1 million KRW are also given depending on the purchase amount. An additional discount of up to 10% is available on the online mall. The gift sets include canned products such as tuna and other canned goods, red ginseng, fruit sets, and meat. Health-related products, which have gained increased interest due to the COVID-19 situation, are also offered widely in price ranges from 10,000 to 100,000 KRW.

The reason large supermarkets focus on pre-order sales of holiday gifts is that consumers are purchasing holiday gifts earlier each year. Pre-ordering allows for stable securing of product quantities and also offers lower prices. In the case of Lotte Mart and Homeplus, pre-orders accounted for 40% and 47%, respectively, of Chuseok gift set sales last year.

Department stores will also start selling Chuseok gift sets from the 14th. Hyundai Department Store will begin pre-order sales on the 14th, and Shinsegae Department Store will start on the 24th. Shinsegae Department Store has increased the quantity of online-exclusive gift sets compared to last year, anticipating that the trend of non-face-to-face (untact) consumption will also affect Chuseok gift purchases. They have also strengthened O2O (online-to-offline) products, which allow customers to order online and pick up products at offline stores. A retail industry official explained, "We increased vacation season inventory expecting a heatwave this year, but sales have been poor due to unprecedented heavy rains. If sales during the Chuseok season also fail, the third quarter of this year will record the worst performance ever." He added, "Starting this month, we plan to launch Chuseok marketing with various benefits to attract customers."