[News Terms] "It's Fun, So I'll Buy It"... 'Dopaming Marketing'

Since its opening on the 26th of last month, the complex shopping mall ‘Starfield Suwon’ has welcomed over 840,000 visitors, and the common denominator among its most popular stores is the ‘experiential megastore.’ Large stores emphasizing experiential elements, such as clothing brand stores exhibiting products from the 1980s or sports brand stores designed as experiential playgrounds for children, have drawn long lines of visitors, creating a bustling atmosphere. The strategy of increasing consumers’ dwell time and expanding product sales through marketing focused on ‘fun’ and ‘experience’ has proven successful. This is known as ‘Dopaming Marketing.’

Citizens visiting Starfield Suwon are looking at LP records.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Dopaming is a newly coined term combining ‘Dopamine,’ a neurotransmitter released when experiencing pleasure, and ‘Farming,’ which means collecting items in games. It refers to the effort to try and seek out any activity that releases dopamine, often called the ‘happiness hormone,’ for the sake of enjoyment. Seoul National University’s Trend Analysis Center identified it as one of the consumer trends for 2024. An example of Dopaming is continuously watching short-form videos uploaded on platforms like TikTok or YouTube to find enjoyment.

In the recent consumer market, Dopaming marketing, which emphasizes ‘fun’ and ‘experience,’ is gaining popularity in line with the trend of pursuing Dopaming. A representative example is the attempt to increase revenue by encouraging customers to stay longer through providing experiences and fun, as seen in experiential megastores. This concept differs from the ‘Buncho Society’ trend of this year. While Buncho Society emphasizes time efficiency and living life racing against every second, Dopaming marketing focuses on extending consumers’ dwell time. However, it is not simply about making stores larger to increase customer experience time. The core is to naturally encourage consumption by prioritizing fun and experience.