Spring visitors flock... bustling e-commerce

Sharp Increase in Travel Product Sales on Tmon and Wemakeprice

The pace of e-commerce companies aiming to capture the spring travel market is accelerating. This is because more people are making outing plans as the spring atmosphere returns after a long winter. Especially this year, the second year of the COVID-19 endemic phase (periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases), the travel industry expects travel demand to increase compared to last year. E-commerce companies such as TMON and WEMAKEPRICE are busily preparing response strategies to attract spring travelers.

WEMAKEPRICE announced on the 4th that package sales in the travel category increased by 807% year-on-year last month. Accommodation product sales rose by 133% during the same period. Activity products increased by 33%. According to WEMAKEPRICE, many of the products paid for during this period are reservations for travel after March. Shopping for travel goods also increased. Representative examples include selfie sticks and carry-on luggage sales, which increased by 41% and 49%, respectively, last month.

Spring Domestic Travel (Image=Timon)

TMON also saw a significant increase in spring outing travel product sales last month. Water park and spa admission tickets increased by 97% compared to the same period last year, and aquarium and zoo sales rose by 87%. Travel products suitable for children, such as kids’ parks, kids’ experience products, and theme parks, also saw sales increase by 41% and 32%, respectively, compared to last year. Many are also looking for products related to Jeju Island, where spring news can be received first. Hotel reservations in Jeju Island increased by 75% year-on-year. A TMON official said, "Ahead of the spring season, sales have sharply increased, especially for leisure products that are easy to enjoy as same-day courses. Demand for resort products preferred by family travelers and hotel products for Jeju travel during the spring flower season has surged."

The remarkable growth shown by TMON and WEMAKEPRICE in this year’s travel market is not only due to the spring breeze. Both companies, acquired consecutively by Qoo10 in 2022 and last year, are focusing on strengthening their competitiveness in travel products. Their strategy is to specialize in the travel and leisure sector in the fiercely competitive e-commerce market to lay the foundation for a new leap forward.

TMON is holding its largest annual shopping event, ‘Monster Sale,’ from the 1st to the 11th of this month, featuring ‘All Day’ targeting spring travel demand. This event focuses on one brand per day, offering discount benefits, with Air Seoul on the 2nd, Hana Tour on the 4th, and Modetour on the 7th. A spring domestic travel collection, which gathers same-day package travel products to popular spring flower spots nationwide and sells them at special prices, will also continue until April.

WEMAKEPRICE is also developing ‘W Travel Leisure’ as a platform that includes everything from independent travel to packages and activities. It plans to showcase 100,000 travel and leisure products by signing business agreements with more than 10 major domestic travel agencies. It will also introduce its own payment system for overseas hotel accommodation services and airline tickets. WEMAKEPRICE is participating in the ‘2024 Korea Accommodation Sale Festa’ organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization. As an event to revitalize regional tourism, a 30,000 KRW discount coupon is provided when purchasing accommodation products nationwide except for the metropolitan area, and WEMAKEPRICE has added additional discounts on top of this.