November, the global month of sales, pays off in Korea

Industry

Published: 16 Nov. 2020, 16:30

November, the global month of sales, pays off in Korea

An electronic board says e-commerce operator 11st generated some 200 billion won ($180.7 million) for its 24-hour promotional event on Nov. 11. [11ST]

Drafting off of sales holidays in other countries, Korea e-commerce operators enjoyed strong sales in early November.

Black Friday in the United States falls on Nov. 27, while Singles’ Day, which has become China’s Black Friday, falls on November 11.

According to Ebay Korea, which runs e-commerce sites Gmarket and Auction, total transactions made through Smile Delivery, its next-day delivery service, during the operator’s Big Smile Day event, which ran Nov. 1 to Nov. 12, was up 60 percent compared to same period a year earlier.

That’s the highest sale figure since 2017, when the company started running the annual event. Compared to an average day, that’s a 110 percent jump.

Processed food was particularly popular. A total of 56,200 Ottogi Odongtong noodles, a microwave-safe cup noodle, were sold during the period, while some 25,700 Dongwon F&B cans of tuna were sold.

Home appliances were also strong, making up about 20 percent of total sales during the period. Some 2,360 air purifiers from Winix were sold.

SSG.com said it plans to hold its SSG Black Shopping Festa for two weeks starting from Monday. [SSG.COM]

11st generated roughly 201.8 billion won ($182.1 million) in sales on Nov. 11 during a 24-hour online promotion. It’s up 37 percent compared to the same day a year ago.

Total spent by the average person increased by 34 percent on year, while the total number of products sold during the day reached 4.99 million, up 16 percent on year.

Shinsegae Group’s SSG Day, which was held late last month, was also a big hit. Sales reached 640 billion won, up 36 percent compared to same event last year.

Sales of other companies also jumped. Sales of SSG.com, S.I.Village and Shinsegae TV Shopping also grew by an average 43 percent on-year.

SSG.com plans to hold SSG Black Shopping Festa starting from Monday to Nov. 29. During the first half of the period, from Nov. 16 to 22, it will concentrate on selling fashion, beauty, sports and kids' items, while the other half will focus on home appliances and food products.

Lotte On, Lotte Group's e-commerce app, experienced a boost in sales during its event held between Oct. 23 to Nov. 1. Sales jumped by 63 percent compared to same period a year ago while the number of visitors to the online website increased by 41 percent on year.

“Local e-commerce operators saw a boost in sales thanks to overseas customers who turned their eyes to the Korean market celebrating Singles’ Day and Black Friday,” Seo Youg-gu, a professor of business administration at Sookmyung Women’s University, said. “Competition will intensify among e-commerce companies who want to make the November shopping event an official annual event."

BY BAE JUNG-WON [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]