"I Thought It Was War"...Big Mart Devastated by Half-Price Hoarding [Report]

November's Biggest Annual Sale First Weekend
Some Stores Face Open-Run and Sell-Out Phenomena
Choosing Large Discounted Products Amid Economic Recession
Emart and Lotte Mart Sales Jump Up to Twice as Much

"Is there a war going on here? Why are there so few products...?"

On the evening of the 3rd, at the Emart Jungdong branch in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. During the first weekend of Shinsegae Group's biggest annual discount event, 'SSG Day,' the shelves here were sparsely empty. Especially, the shelves gathering discounted items such as Korean beef and eggs for SSG Day were completely empty. Even considering that the visit time was late evening close to closing time, even the usually well-stocked snack shelves were empty. At other stores besides the Jungdong branch, customers flocked, resulting in lines over 30 minutes for checkout, and even nearby roads to the stores were paralyzed.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the egg display at Emart Jungdong Branch in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do is empty. Photo by Minji Lee

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the snack aisle at Emart Jungdong Branch in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, appeared empty. Photo by Minji Lee

Similarly, Lotte Mart, which is holding the grocery discount event 'Thank You Festival,' experienced a rush at opening. On the 31st of last month, Lotte Mart offered Korean beef soup cuts and bulgogi at up to 67% discount at all stores, and even though it was a weekday morning, some stores such as Zeta Flex Seoul Station branch had customers lining up with carts before opening.

After the first weekend of the discount events held by major retail giants Shinsegae and Lotte in November, it was found that weekend sales at Emart and Lotte Mart significantly increased. This is interpreted as a partial relief of frozen consumer sentiment due to high prices and economic recession through half-price discounts and special sales.

According to Emart on the 4th, sales during the first weekend of the event from the 1st to the 3rd increased by 8% compared to last year's SSG Day weekend (November 17-19). Considering that customers flock every year due to high discount rates during SSG Day, this shows growth. Lotte Mart, which held a large-scale discount event for the first time in November, showed an even higher sales growth rate. Lotte Mart's sales from the first day of the Thank You Festival on the 31st of last month to the 3rd of this month increased by more than 30% compared to the same period last year.

Looking at the sales growth rate by category, the sales growth rate of the livestock category, including Korean beef, which both companies promoted as major discount items, stood out. At Emart, Korean beef sales increased by 111% compared to last year's SSG Day. Emart increased the discount rate on all refrigerated Korean beef items to 50% this year and prepared 2.5 times the quantity.

At Lotte Mart, sales in the livestock category from the 31st of last month to the 3rd of this month were more than 70% higher than last year's Korean Beef Day (October 26-29). In particular, Korean beef sales more than doubled during this period. A Lotte Mart official explained, "We believe the excellent performance of the 'Grade 1 Korean Beef Soup Cut Bulgogi (100g, refrigerated)' during the one-day Thank You special on the 31st of last month had a significant impact."

Other items also showed high sales growth rates. Emart held a 50% discount event when purchasing two or more bottles of olive oil during SSG Day, and sales increased by 176% compared to last year. This is attributed to the sharp rise in olive oil prices in the first half of this year. Sales of 'Special Price Ipam Eggs (30 eggs × 2 trays, large eggs, domestic)' also increased by 21% compared to last year's SSG Day. Sales of cheese and imported butter also increased by 23% compared to last year's SSG Day due to a 50% discount when purchasing two or more items. At Lotte Mart, sales of fruits and seafood increased by about 15% and 10%, respectively.

Customers lining up at the entrance of Lotte Mart Zeta Plex Seoul Station store before the Thank You One Day Special sale started on the 31st of last month. Provided by Lotte Mart.

The November discount events in the retail industry will continue until mid-month. Shinsegae Group is holding SSG Day until the 10th. During this period, 18 Shinsegae affiliates including Emart, Shinsegae Department Store, Starfield, SSG.com, and Gmarket are participating in the discount event. Emart offers up to 50% discounts on popular products such as Korean beef, rice, and eggs. Emart prepared more than 2.5 times the quantity of Korean beef, which is discounted across all items compared to last year, and Russian snow crab is sold at half price of 28,800 KRW when paying with event cards. Pizza, snacks, and wine are also offered at discounted prices.

Lotte Mart is also holding the grocery-centered integrated discount event 'Thank You Festival' until the 13th of this month. During the first week of the Thank You Festival until the 6th, fresh food is discounted up to 50%. Live king crab (100g, refrigerated, Russian origin) is offered at half price for 5,995 KRW, and Jeju tangerines (3kg box) are offered at about half the current market price of 7,990 KRW. In addition, processed foods, daily necessities, and household goods offer benefits such as buy-one-get-one-free and 50% discounts on more than twice the usual number of items.

As the effects of such discount events have been confirmed, it is expected that large-scale discount events in the retail industry in November will expand every year. An Emart official said, "SSG Day, now in its fifth year, received a lot of response over the three days as we strived to provide customers with exceptional benefits," adding, "We will continue to plan large discount events for customers who trust and visit Emart."