Gmarket "Polarization in Overseas Direct Purchases... Buying Either Luxury Goods or Health Supplements"

Infographic analyzing overseas direct purchases on Gmarket. (Photo by Gmarket)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Gmarket announced on the 27th that during the Black Friday season, popular overseas direct purchase items showed a clear polarization phenomenon according to price.

Comparing overseas direct purchase product sales from November 1 to 23 with the same period last month, Gmarket identified luxury goods, home appliances, and health supplements as popular products.

Looking at the sales growth rate by major overseas direct purchase categories during this period, imported luxury goods, a traditional stronghold of direct purchase, showed the highest sales growth rate at 229%, followed by audio devices (140%), kitchen appliances (136%), seasonal appliances (92%), mobile/tablets (70%), and video appliances (68%). Purchases of high-priced digital appliances were also active. There is a clear tendency to buy luxury goods and home appliances, which are usually expensive and cause hesitation, through direct purchases with large discounts.

On the other hand, health supplements, which have relatively less price burden, also gained great popularity with an 83% increase compared to the previous month. In fact, all of the top 1 to 5 bestsellers by sales quantity in the ‘Overseas Direct Purchase Big Sale’ event that started on the 21st were health supplements. In particular, well-known brands such as ‘Thorne Research’, ‘California Gold Nutrition’, and ‘Jarrow’ were popular.

Besides health supplements, trendy devices such as iPhones, AirPods, amplifier speakers, portable monitors, and camping stoves dominated the top 20 rankings. Not only Apple’s iPhones and AirPods, which have a strong fan base, but also audio devices popular due to the high-quality speaker trend, portable monitors rising with the establishment of remote work, and camping stoves considered essential items for the winter season amid the camping boom sold well.

Lee Juchul, Head of Strategy Business Division at Gmarket, said, “We hope customers do not miss the opportunity to purchase internationally recognized products at special prices through the Overseas Direct Purchase Big Sale prepared for the year-end consumption peak,” adding, “We are preparing a wide range of products from consistently popular overseas direct purchase items to trendy products, which is generating a good response.”