[Sponsored Report] Cosmetics still king on eBay Korea

Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, caused the international popularity of Korean products to surge overall last year.

But when it came to online exports, the two keywords were “cosmetics” and “China.”

Cosmetics have topped eBay Korea’s online exports by volume for three years straight, with “fashion,” which includes both clothing and accessories, coming in a close second.

Sporting goods were in third place, which eBay Korea attributes to the recent fitness craze in China.

With home improvement supplies, cameras, motor parts, computers and monitors, industrial supplies, consumer electronics and phone accessories rounding out the top 10, overseas demand for Korean products is clearly diversifying.

China is the largest online export market for eBay Korea, followed by the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Taiwan.

This year, eBay Korea has made predictions about which product categories will sell best by region based on last year’s growth rate and interviews with internal experts.

It predicts sports memorabilia will gain popularity in the United States, while demand for upholstery supplies will rise in the United Kingdom.

eBay Korea is the only domestic distribution company that runs “Cross Border Trade (CBT),” an online export support program. Due to eBay’s status as the world’s largest platform for e-commerce, CBT is expected to provide smaller businesses and retailers in Korea with opportunities to enter markets all around the world.

Since launching its English language service in October 2006, eBay Korea has operated “Gmarket Global,” an online marketplace that allows international buyers to make direct purchases from Korean shopping malls.

The site continues to expand its customer base, adding Chinese language services in 2013 and releasing an app in 2015 to cater to mobile shoppers.

BY PARK HYE-MI [park.hyemi@joongang.co.kr]