2024 KOSFE, Online Time Deals at Resorts and Theme Parks
Shinsegae Launches Longest, Largest Ssuk Day Event
C-Commerce Announces Major Discounts for Guanggunje Celebration
As the biggest "month of discounts" of the year, November, approaches, the retail industry is buzzing. With Korea Sale Festa, the largest ever, coinciding with major domestic and international discount events such as the US Black Friday and China's Guanggun Festival, retail companies are announcing their own sales events, preparing to open consumers' wallets in this era of high inflation.
According to the retail industry on the 22nd, the government will hold the "2024 Korea Sale Festa (Kosepe)" for about a month from the 9th to the 30th of next month. This year, many domestic retail companies are expected to participate in Kosepe, with department stores and large supermarkets planning to offer discounts on food, fashion, and daily necessities. In addition, durable goods such as automobiles, home appliances, and tires will be offered at discounted prices, and tourism, culture, and dining sectors will also prepare discounted products.
Last November, a banner announcing Korea's largest shopping festival, '2023 Korea Sale Festa,' was hung on Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Kosepe was first held in 2015 as a government-led initiative to stimulate consumption amid a sluggish domestic market, benchmarking the US Black Friday. Since then, it has become a regular event held every fall. Unlike previous years, this year's Kosepe includes new participants such as resorts and theme parks. Additionally, convenience stores will launch the "Kosepe National Representative Lunchbox," and online time deals for food and beverages will also be promoted.
Separately from Kosepe, some companies hold their own year-round sales events. Shinsegae Group, a major retail conglomerate, is a representative example. Shinsegae will hold the "2024 Korea SSG Day" event from the 1st to the 10th of next month. This year marks the 5th SSG Day, with 18 Shinsegae retail affiliates participating, including E-Mart, Shinsegae Department Store, and Gmarket.
This year's SSG Day will run for ten days, including two weekends, making it the longest SSG Day event ever. The volume of goods prepared for the event is worth 1.9 trillion won, also the largest ever. Shinsegae plans to disclose specific discounted items and discount rates by affiliate in line with the official start of the SSG Day event. According to currently available information, E-Mart will offer all Korean beef products at half price during the SSG Day event and sell Russian king crab at the lowest price of the year. Shinsegae L&B will offer the popular bourbon whiskey Evan Williams at 29,980 won, cheaper than the US local price.
Chinese e-commerce (C-commerce) companies AliExpress (Ali), Temu, and Shein have also announced discounts for the upcoming Guanggun Festival next month. Guanggun Festival, held on November 11, was originally an unofficial day to comfort singles without partners in China, but it transformed into a shopping festival after Taobao started holding discount events for Guanggun Festival. It is now the largest annual discount event for Chinese retail companies, rivaling the scale of the US Black Friday.
Ali, which is actively targeting the domestic market, is raising the shopping mood by announcing pre-events before the main Guanggun Festival sale begins. Ali will hold a "Ali 100 Won Raffle" event daily from the 1st to the 18th of next month. Among consumers who enter during this period, a lottery will award 100 million won in cash, luxury brand products, and app coupons. Ali will also conduct the largest discounts and special sales of the year during the Guanggun Festival. The domestic product sales channel K-Venue will also offer Guanggun Festival discounts.
Other C-commerce platforms Temu and Shein have also opened special discount pages for the Guanggun Festival, aiming to attract Korean customers. Temu has opened a dedicated Guanggun Festival page showcasing special deal products ranging from daily necessities to clothing, hobby items, and small home appliances. Temu's maximum discount rate for Guanggun Festival reaches 90%. Shein, a fashion-specialized C-commerce platform, also offers up to 90% discounts on products including its private brand (PB) Dazy for the Guanggun Festival.
Discounts for the original November sales event, the US Black Friday, are also underway. 11st, which partners with Amazon, the largest US e-commerce platform, to provide domestic services, is a representative example. 11st operates the "Amazon Global Store," a specialized overseas direct purchase section where customers can buy Amazon US products domestically. Previously, from the 8th to the 13th, 11st held a Pre-Black Friday event, offering up to 53% discounts on popular direct purchase products from Amazon Global Store. 11st plans to provide consumer benefits during the "Black Friday" event scheduled for the fourth week of November.
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