Ceragem Records 5.72 Million Visitors at Wellcafe Over 5 Years
Bodyfriend Implements Experience Reservation System Since Last Year
The healthcare home appliance industry is fervently focusing on 'experience marketing.' Bodyfriend and Ceragem, the two leading domestic healthcare home appliance companies and the number one brands in massage chairs and bed-type massage devices respectively, are concentrating on attracting consumers by increasing experience stores and expanding events. Since many consumers want to try high-priced healthcare appliances before purchasing, and often make purchase decisions during the experience process, this strategy is gaining traction.
According to Ceragem on the 17th, the cumulative number of customers who have experienced the cafe-style directly operated experience store, Wellcafe, reached 5.72 million as of last month. This figure was recorded five years after the first Wellcafe branch opened in Mokdong in 2019.
Wellcafe is a complex cultural space that combines a cafe and community functions with a space where customers can experience Ceragem healthcare appliances. It was created to overcome the shortcomings of existing stores where it was difficult to have sufficient experience before purchase. Consumer response has been positive enough to increase the number of stores from 8 in 2019 to 90 in 2020, 118 in 2021, 125 in 2022, and 135 last year. A Ceragem official explained, "The role of the experience space called Wellcafe was very significant in establishing ourselves as a top company in the domestic healthcare home appliance market in a short period."
Bodyfriend also operates about 170 experience-type stores called 'Lounges' nationwide. These are not just places to sell products but spaces where customers can use Bodyfriend massage chairs such as Da Vinci and Phantom for free. Consumers can experience massages while receiving explanations on how to operate the devices and get recommendations for customized massage chairs through consultations.
Since last year, Bodyfriend has officially started a 'reservation system for experiences.' Customers can select the lounge they want to visit and choose a date on the Bodyfriend website. Within a year, 28,000 customers have used the experience reservation system. A Bodyfriend official said, "If you include customers who visit without reservations, many more customers come, and a significant number of customers who are satisfied with the lounge service make purchases."
As the e-commerce ecosystem continues to grow, the increase in offline healthcare home appliance stores is analyzed to be due to the nature of the products requiring direct experience and their high price range. Massage chair prices generally range from 2 million KRW to 7 million KRW. An industry official said, "Since these are high-involvement products, it is common to purchase after multiple experiences, so offline experience stores are expected to increase in the future."
Both companies are also expanding incentives to attract consumers. Bodyfriend is offering a coffee gifticon for lounge experience reservations until this month and additionally giving knee blankets to existing product users. Ceragem is also providing free drink coupons and prizes through a raffle to Wellcafe visitors until the 31st of next month.
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