[Report] A Museum for the Senses... SSG.com Makes Its First Offline Appearance

SSG.com Hosts Offline Festival in Seongsu-dong, Seoul from October 15 to 19
Over 100 Popular Food and Beauty Brands Participate
"Expanding Offline Customer Experience... Expected to Drive Online Sales"

"I tried the Gosari Bibim-myeon on the first floor, and it was so delicious. I'm planning to order it from SSG.com when I get home."

Park Minjin (30), whom we met at the SSG.com offline festival in Seongsu-dong, Seoul on October 15, said she purchased an early bird ticket for the event through SSG.com. She shared, "Today was my first time trying Benson Ice Cream, and I think I'll buy it whenever I see it outside from now on." She added, "It was a rewarding event overall, as I got to discover delicious products from brands I didn't know before."

On the 15th, at the SSG.com offline festival 'Mizium' in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

SSG.com, the e-commerce platform of Shinsegae Group, made its first-ever offline appearance since its founding. The festival, which runs from October 15 to 19, features exclusive products and luxury beauty items that were previously only available online, all gathered in one place. The name of the offline festival, 'Mizium,' combines the Korean word for gourmet ('mi') and beauty ('mi'), while also evoking a museum concept. This is the first offline event in the e-commerce industry to simultaneously feature both a food hall and a beauty specialty hall.

The concept of the first offline festival is 'Selected Museum.' Over 100 grocery and beauty brands are participating, with 49 brands joining an offline pop-up for the first time. The space is organized into six themed zones: Gourmet Street, Delight Zone, Emart Mall Fresh Lounge, Sweet Zone, Beauty of SSG, and Mizium Stage.

SSG.com began selling early bird tickets last month, and the first round of early bird tickets sold out on the same day. Customers who missed the pre-sale can still purchase tickets through SSG.com to participate. Tickets are priced at 30,000 won. The event is divided into three sessions per day.

The most popular spot at the event was the third-floor beauty experience area, 'Beauty of SSG,' which featured booths from luxury beauty brands. Here, attendees could experience booths from high-end brands rarely seen at other beauty festivals, such as Lanc?me, Est?e Lauder, Sisley, Byredo, Dolce & Gabbana Beauty, as well as leading Amorepacific brands like Aestura and Hanyul.

A queue continues at the site of the 3rd-floor beauty experience space 'Beauty of SSG'. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

Due to its popularity, there were over 50 waiting teams at the entrance to the Beauty of SSG area, and wait times exceeded 30 minutes. Han Sujeong (30), who came from Gangseo-gu, Seoul, said, "The main reason I came to this festival was for the beauty section, but even after waiting 30 minutes, there were still 40 teams ahead of me. I heard that if you exceed the three-hour time limit, your spot in line could be canceled. I wish there was a system for pre-registration."

Another notable area was the first-floor 'Delight Zone.' In addition to exclusive products from brands sold on SSG.com, there were experience booths from familiar food brands. The Nongshim booth, promoting the upcoming Netflix film 'K-Pop Demon Hunters,' held an 'instant memory game,' while CJ CheilJedang hosted a 'fitness test' event aligned with the low-sugar trend. There were also spaces to sample products from brands like Camel Coffee, Omadeng, and Gosari Express, all available on SSG.com.

A customer experiencing the instant memory game event at the Nongshim booth in the first-floor 'Delight Zone'. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

In addition to premium brands, a variety of small and medium-sized brands also participated. Companies involved in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'TOPS Program' introduced health foods and seasonal side dishes at the event. Lee Soonjang, CEO of Wirange, a participant in the program, said, "With government support, we are selling products worth 25,000 won for about 5,000 won on SSG.com. The dramatic discount has increased our purchase rate and significantly boosted brand awareness." A representative from Gosari Express said, "In March this year, we sold two products on SSG.com, but from April, we expanded to four. As a result, from March to September this year, our monthly sales on SSG.com increased by an average of 3.8%."

This event is an unprecedented move for SSG.com, which has focused primarily on online business. Until now, SSG.com had not engaged in much marketing beyond online discount events. However, as it strengthens its premium positioning around fresh foods, it is working to maximize offline customer experience, similar to large supermarkets that are expanding their food halls.

Bang Seungjae, head of marketing at SSG.com, said, "You can experience SSG.com's strengths firsthand, from high-quality foods to luxury cosmetics, and receive various benefits on-site. We hope that the customer experiences formed through the offline pop-up will spread online and help broaden our customer base."