Last Year, the Most Purchased Item by Koreans in Overseas Direct Purchases Was 'Health Supplements'

iHerb×Open Survey, December Survey of Overseas Direct Purchase Consumers
Dietary Supplements Rank 1st in Purchase Satisfaction for 2 Consecutive Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Last year, the top purchased item in the overseas direct purchase market was health functional foods such as vitamins and supplements. Health functional foods have been ranked as the most purchased overseas direct purchase item by Koreans for two consecutive years.

iHerb and Open Survey announced on the 20th that according to a survey conducted in December last year targeting 500 people (men and women aged 20-50, multiple responses allowed) who had experience with overseas direct purchase within the past six months, the most frequently purchased overseas direct purchase item was health functional foods (51.2%). This was followed by ▲fashion accessories (41.0%) ▲clothing and fashion-related products (39.4%) ▲household goods (23.2%) ▲sports and hobby goods (21.6%). Health functional foods also ranked first in overseas direct purchase items in a similar survey conducted in 2020 with the same criteria, recording 52%, thus securing the top spot for two consecutive years.

The satisfaction rate after purchasing health functional foods was 80.9%, which was higher compared to other product categories such as electronic and communication devices (61.5%) and clothing and fashion-related products (58.9%). In the 2020 survey conducted under the same criteria, health functional foods also ranked first in post-purchase satisfaction (75.8%).

The reasons for the high satisfaction with overseas direct purchase of health functional foods included ▲affordable prices (70.8%) ▲good quality (66.2%) ▲high discount rates (46.9%) ▲fast delivery (14.6%). By gender, women (59.3%) were found to purchase health functional foods through overseas direct purchase more than men (42.9%). The top overseas direct purchase item for men was electronic and communication devices (44.5%), followed by health functional foods (42.9%).

By age group, people in their 50s (57.7%) purchased health functional foods the most through overseas direct purchase, followed by those in their 30s (55.6%), 40s (50.0%), and 20s (41.6%).

The respondents of this survey cited a total of seven shopping malls, including iHerb, Amazon US, AliExpress, and well-known domestic direct purchase platforms, as the main shopping malls they use for overseas direct purchase. When choosing overseas direct purchase shopping malls, product reliability, fast delivery, and discount rates were considered important factors.

In the product reliability category of overseas direct purchase platforms mainly used by Koreans in this survey, iHerb ranked first with 47.7%. This was a higher percentage compared to Amazon US (27.8%), AliExpress (8.2%), and four well-known domestic direct purchase platforms (average 24.2%). iHerb also ranked first in this category in 2020.

A representative of iHerb Korea said, "We are pleased that iHerb has ranked first for two consecutive years in product reliability among Korean customers, who are known as smart consumers," and added, "We will provide better customer service and shopping experiences in the future to repay the support of Korean customers."