Four Major Department Stores Launch Early Reservations for Seollal Gift Sets... Increased Discounts and Expanded Stock

Four major domestic department stores have launched pre-orders for gift sets in anticipation of the Lunar New Year holiday, which is just over two months away. Due to high inflation and an economic downturn, more customers are seeking the pre-order period, which offers relatively higher discounts. Accordingly, each department store is attracting customers by offering significant discounts.

According to the distribution industry on the 17th, the four department stores?Lotte Department Store, Shinsegae Department Store, Hyundai Department Store, and Galleria?will begin pre-orders for Lunar New Year gift sets from late this month to early next month. Considering the increasing number of customers during the pre-order period, these companies plan to increase the quantity compared to last year and provide discount benefits.

Lotte Department Store: Up to 60% Discount on 230 Items Including Meat and Seafood

A Lotte Department Store model introducing Seol holiday gifts. Photo by Lotte Department Store

Lotte Department Store will conduct pre-orders for Lunar New Year gift sets at all its branches from the 20th of this month until January 5th next year. During this pre-order period, about 230 items in categories such as meat, seafood, fresh produce, and groceries will be sold at discounts of up to 60%.

Compared to last year's Lunar New Year pre-order items, Lotte Department Store has increased new items and introduced various limited items available only during the pre-order period. Additionally, best-selling items with steady demand in each product category, such as Korean beef, seafood, and fresh produce, have increased their quantities by about 20%.

First, for meat gifts, the basic weight of popular items has been adjusted. Considering changing lifestyles such as the increase in single- and two-person households and the expansion of holiday travel populations, the basic weight of popular items has been reduced from 2 kg to 1.6 kg. Representative items include the 'Royal Hanwoo Steak Gift' (1.6 kg, 384,000 KRW) and 'Royal Hanwoo Roast Gift' (1.6 kg, 360,000 KRW).

Seafood gifts have expanded their price spectrum. The price range has been broadened from mainly practical gifts priced between 100,000 to 200,000 KRW to as high as 600,000 KRW. Representative items include the 'Laficery Yeonggwang Beopseongpo Gulbi Gon Gift' (1.8 kg, 520,000 KRW) and 'Jeju Okdom Silver Hairtail Dried Gift' (3.2 kg, 360,000 KRW).

Fresh produce and grocery gifts focus on expanding premium and limited items. For fresh produce, additional high-quality production areas were secured early to increase the quantity of popular items by 20%. As a grocery gift, reflecting gourmet demand, the Italian 'Fresh White Truffle Gift (50g, 1,200,000 KRW)'?available only through this pre-order sale?is introduced for the first time.

In addition, Lotte Department Store has strengthened exclusive differentiated wine items. Representative items include two winning wines from the October 'The Blind' wine event, the 'Art Special Edition' in collaboration with artist Kim Whanki, and the 'Future Vineyard Pinot Noir' set by world-renowned wine critic James Suckling.

Meanwhile, Lotte Department Store Mall will also offer up to 65% discounts on about 18,000 popular holiday items such as Korean beef, bakery, and groceries during the pre-order period.

Choi Hyung-mo, head of Lotte Department Store's Food Division, said, "We have put great effort into providing the best curation to reduce customers' worries and efforts in choosing." He added, "We hope Lotte Department Store becomes a ‘marketplace of gifts’ that delivers warmth and comfort during the year-end and New Year holidays."

Shinsegae Department Store: 10% Increase in Gift Set Quantity... Up to 60% Discount

Shinsegae Department Store, Lunar New Year Gift Pre-Order Sale in Progress. Photo by Shinsegae Department Store

Shinsegae Department Store will conduct pre-orders for 2025 Lunar New Year gift sets from the 20th of this month until the 9th of next month. Shinsegae Department Store is offering up to 60% discount benefits during the pre-order period and has prepared about 50,000 sets, which is 10% more than last year's Lunar New Year.

A total of about 260 items are available for pre-order. Specifically, there are 56 agricultural items such as pears, apples, and dried persimmons; 34 meat items including Korean beef; 29 seafood items such as gulbi and hairtail; and 28 wine items. Discount rates vary by item: 5-10% for Korean beef, 20% for gulbi, 10% for fresh produce, 50% for wine, and 60% for health foods.

In particular, for fruit gift sets, Shinsegae Department Store expanded its designated production area, Select Farm, to reduce price burdens through direct transactions. The variety of products has also been diversified, increasing the number of main holiday products priced between 100,000 and 200,000 KRW. Representative products include the Select Farm apple and pear mixed set Dabok (171,000 KRW) and the Select Farm pear set made with pears from Icheon (130,000 KRW).

For meat gift sets, Shinsegae increased the 'Shinsegae Female Hanwoo' products, which reduce distribution stages by having Shinsegae meat buyers and designated brokers directly participate in auctions. Representative products include the Shinsegae Female Hanwoo Dabok (232,500 KRW), which includes cuts for grilling, bulgogi, and soup, and the Shinsegae Female Hanwoo The Prime Manbok (418,000 KRW), carefully selected with popular grilling cuts such as tenderloin and sirloin.

Choi Won-jun, executive director in charge of food at Shinsegae Department Store, said, "Reflecting customers' rational and diversified tastes, we expanded the number of items compared to last year's pre-order period to broaden customer choices." He added, "We will strive to enhance convenience for customers using pre-orders by expanding Select Farm products to ease price burdens."

Hyundai Department Store: Over 200 Types Including Korean Beef and Fruits Up to 30% Discount

Hyundai Department Store, 2025 Lunar New Year Gift Set Pre-Order Sale. Photo by Hyundai Department Store

Hyundai Department Store will conduct pre-orders for 2025 Lunar New Year gift sets for 21 days from the 20th of this month until January 9th next year. Hyundai Department Store has increased the quantity of pre-order gift sets by about 20% compared to last year's Lunar New Year pre-order period. This is in anticipation of increased demand for purchasing Lunar New Year gifts at reasonable prices due to high inflation.

During the pre-order period, Hyundai Department Store will sell about 200 popular gift sets including Korean beef, gulbi, fresh produce, health foods, and alcoholic beverages at discounts of up to 30%. Representative products include the Hyundai Special Hanwoo Porridge Set (310,000 KRW), the Premium Jeju Fruit Mixed Mango Set (195,000 KRW), the Master Myungin Organic Red Ginseng Extract (153,000 KRW), and the Master Myungin Mibon Cham Set (162,000 KRW).

Promotions will also be held for customers purchasing gift products through the online mall and mobile app during the pre-order period. First, The Hyundai.com will provide coupons for up to 10% discount (up to 70,000 KRW, 5 times per ID per day) to customers purchasing gift sets over 50,000 KRW, and an additional 6% discount is offered when purchasing with a Hyundai Department Store card. Hyundai H Mall plans to provide 10% discount coupons (up to 20,000 KRW, 15 per ID) for orders over 10,000 KRW starting January 6th next year.

Jang Woo-seok, executive director of Hyundai Department Store's Food Business Division, said, "We prepared a variety of gift sets ranging from premium to practical to expand consumers' choices." He added, "We will do our best to manage service quality from order to delivery so that the gratitude conveyed to loved ones is well delivered."

Galleria Department Store: Strengthening Both Premium and Cost-Effective Gift Sets... Up to Half-Price Discount

Galleria Department Store Premium Guest Welcome Set. Provided by Hanwha Galleria

Galleria Department Store will begin pre-orders for Lunar New Year gift sets from the 26th of this month until the 9th of next month.

Reflecting recent consumption trends, Galleria has simultaneously strengthened high-priced premium gift sets and mid-to-low-priced cost-effective gift sets. Along with high-priced alcoholic beverage sets, the number of mid-to-low-priced pre-order sets such as fruits and processed goods has increased by more than 30% compared to the previous year.

The pre-order sets include about 360 items, which will be sold at discounts of up to 50% during the pre-order period. This year, Galleria introduces the 'Galleria Signature Gift Set,' which allows gifting multiple premium ingredients such as Korean beef, abalone, and fruits at once. Additionally, sets such as the Guest Welcome Set, Lunar New Year Set, and First Birthday Assortment Set will also be offered. Furthermore, differentiated gift sets such as the 'Grass-Fed Meat Set' raised on healthy grass and ultra-high-priced rare wine sets will be available.

The main sale of Galleria's Lunar New Year gift sets is scheduled to take place from January 10th to 27th, following the pre-order period.

A representative from Hanwha Galleria said, "Due to prolonged high inflation, consumer sentiment has weakened, and consumption patterns emphasizing cost-effectiveness are increasing." They added, "We will offer carefully selected high-quality products at reasonable prices."