SSG.com, 60% Sales Increase
Children's Products 'Popular'
Online Shopping in the US Declines Compared to Last Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] In line with the biggest shopping season in the U.S., Black Friday, domestic e-commerce sales also saw a significant increase. This was the result of targeting 'direct purchase shoppers' with large-scale discount events and massive inventory to meet the growing year-end demand for overseas direct purchases.
◆ Battle for Direct Purchase Shoppers, Sales Surge = On the 29th, SSG.com reported that sales of overseas direct purchase products increased by 60% compared to the same period last year from the 26th to the 28th. Sales of baby and children's products rose about 1500%, recording the highest growth rate. Premium baby formula products such as Aptamil Profutura and Hipp Bio Combiotic sold particularly well. Men's clothing (260%), men's shoes (125%), kitchen products (123%), and women's shoes (117%) also showed high sales growth.
At Lotte ON, sales of overseas direct purchase products increased more than 20 times compared to the previous year during the same period, achieving record-high sales on Black Friday itself. Sales of maternity and baby products increased more than 100 times, with luxury goods (70 times), processed foods (30 times), and home appliances (13 times) also showing significant sales growth. At Gmarket, sales of major overseas direct purchase items increased by 34% compared to last year, with high growth rates in audio equipment (181%), toys (84%), and branded clothing (75%).
This year, the e-commerce industry is in full swing competing for direct purchase shoppers. 11st is offering up to 50% discounts on about 50,000 popular products from Amazon Global Store until the 30th. The number of discounted products has more than doubled to about 5.5 million compared to about 2.8 million last year. Free shipping is available for anyone who purchases over 28,000 KRW, and Woojoo Pass subscribers receive free shipping even if they buy just one item regardless of the purchase amount.
Gmarket and Auction are offering special prices on the most popular overseas direct purchase products of the year until the 29th, and provide a coupon for a 100,000 KRW discount on purchases over 700,000 KRW. SSG.com sold about 100,000 products worth 10 billion KRW through the 'Black SSG Friday' event until the 28th, while Lotte ON offered about 10,000 products worth 5 billion KRW at discounted prices through the 'The Black Week' event.
◆ Offline Booms in the U.S., Online Slows Down = According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), for the first time in Black Friday history, online consumption in the U.S. decreased, but offline retail thrived. According to RetailNext, the number of people visiting stores on Black Friday this year increased by 61% compared to last year. However, it was 27% lower than in 2019 before COVID-19.
Online retail analytics firm Adobe Analytics estimated that Americans spent $8.9 billion (about 10.6 trillion KRW) on online shopping on Black Friday. This is a slight decrease from last year's $9 billion, attributed to the discount season starting earlier than usual. Online shopping on Thanksgiving Day (the 25th), the day before, was $5.1 billion (about 6.1 trillion KRW), nearly the same as the same day last year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
