Retailers jump on the camping gear bandwagon with sales

Home > Business > Industry

print dictionary print

Retailers jump on the camping gear bandwagon with sales

Walmart camping gear and equipment, including Ozark Trail and Expert Grill products, are sold by Homeplus. [HOMEPLUS]

Walmart camping gear and equipment, including Ozark Trail and Expert Grill products, are sold by Homeplus. [HOMEPLUS]

 
Many people are now enjoying outdoor activities after the outdoor mask mandates were lifted in April. 
 
As the number of campers surges, the camping gear market is growing fast.
 
Sales of camping equipment rose by 43 percent on year in April according to Interpark on May 25.
 
Market Kurly’s camping gear sales between May 1 and 20 increased by over 50 percent compared to the same period the previous month.  
 
The camping population in Korea has soared since the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
There were 5 million campers in 2016, according to the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute. That rose to 6 million in 2019 and to over 7 million in 2021.  
 
The demand for camping is rising as people have been longing for outdoor activities with family and friends during the pandemic. 
 
To cater to rising demand, retailers are expanding their camping gear offerings.


Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch in southern Seoul will exclusively sell products of the Lawn Chair, a U.S.-based brand of foldable lawn chairs, until June 9.  
 
The brand is popular among younger consumers because the chairs are lighter, with the smaller classic lawn chair weighing 1.9 kilograms (4.2 pounds). The Magnum lawn chair, which is bigger than the classic size, costs 115,000 won ($93). 


The chairs come in mint green, orange and pink, another reason behind the brand's popularity. 
 
Lawn Chair folding lawn chair will be sold exclusively at Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch in southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

Lawn Chair folding lawn chair will be sold exclusively at Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch in southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

 
Homeplus is selling 37 different types of outdoor equipment and camping gear from Walmart, including Ozark Trail and Expert Grill products, from May 26.  
 
The retailer sells various products, such as tents, camping chairs, folding wagon cars, tumblers and cookware kits.  
 
Various camping food are also being sold.  
 
Market Kurly will offer discounts of up to 45 percent on 130 different types of meat and foods until June 3.  
 
Foods, such as U.S. tomahawk steaks, pork ribs, assorted barbecue skewers and gobchang jeongol, will be discounted 20 to 40 percent.  
 
The company also offers discounts on meal kits. 
 
Ready-to-eat meals and meal kits are preferred by many campers as it is difficult to cook at the camping site.  
 
“Companies are actively responding to the situation as the lifting of outdoor mask mandates and the sunny weather these days have led the camping population to surge,” said Shin Seung-ha, a promotion marketer at Market Kurly.
 
“Customers can use this opportunity to purchase products that they have always wanted to buy at lower prices.”  

BY CHOI HYUN-JU [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)