Emart's 25,000-won snack box event
SNS proof-shot craze sends sales soaring
Reselling controversy erupts on second-hand platforms
Emart's ongoing "Unlimited Snack Pick-and-Fill" event has gone beyond a simple discount promotion and is spreading like a "challenge" where people compete to see how many snacks they can pack, driving explosive popularity. However, as cases emerge of people reselling the cheaply purchased snacks on second-hand platforms, some point out that this undermines the original purpose of the event.
On the 1st, shoppers at E-Mart's Yeongdeungpo store in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, wait at the checkout holding snacks. E-Mart has been running an event since the 29th of last month where, for 25,000 won, customers can fill a designated box with unlimited snacks. Yonhap News
According to the retail industry on the 4th, Emart has been running a large-scale discount event called "Goraeit Festa" since the 29th of last month. Participation is simple. Customers pay 25,000 won, receive one designated box, fill it with as many snacks as they can fit inside, and take it to the checkout. Word of mouth has spread that the perceived benefit is significant for the price, and the event venues have been crowded every day.
"How many can you fit?"... Challenge trend drives blockbuster sales
The event, originally scheduled to run until the 1st of this month, was extended to the 4th due to a hotter-than-expected response. In particular, this promotion gained traction by evolving beyond a discount event into a kind of challenge where people compete to see "how many snacks they can pack," which helped fuel its success.
Online reviews indicate that the average purchase volume per person is around 50 to 60 bags. It is not hard to find proof shots of people packing more than 100 bags. Some customers even bought dozens to hundreds of bags of a single type of snack, drawing attention.
Emart has also clearly benefited from the event. From the 29th of last month to the 2nd of this month, event sales surpassed the target by more than 150% earlier than expected. During the same period, total sales in the snack category increased by about 34% compared to a year earlier. The consensus is that combining a discount promotion with "playful consumption" stimulated purchases.
Resellers appear on Danggeun Market... Criticism over excessive buying
As the event's popularity grew, cases emerged of people buying in bulk and then reselling. On second-hand marketplaces, posts have been appearing one after another offering snacks obtained through the event in smaller lots or bundled sets.
Snack sale post uploaded to a secondhand marketplace after Emart's all-you-can-fill snack event. Screenshot from Danggeun.
Although the prices are lower than in regular retail channels, criticism continues that this behavior deviates from the original intent of the discount event. Online reactions include comments such as, "Why buy an amount you can't even eat?" and "I knew it would eventually lead to reselling."
Some consumers point out that the structure of the event itself can encourage overbuying. They criticize it by saying, "It makes you buy snacks you don't even need," "This is going too far as a sales tactic," "I can't believe they're handling promotional items like this," and "It incites excessive consumption."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
