General

There is no doubt that Korean consumers love kimchi, and Chinese kimchi is also very popular. According to data released by the Korean Customs, in the first quarter of 2021, South Korea imported all kimchi from China, with a total of 67940 tons, which is 6 times the total amount of kimchi exported by South Korea.

Coincidentally, the popularity of high-quality domestic products in the Korean market is also evident.

Sales of domestic products in South Korea exploded

Not only kimchi, which is an indispensable food for the Korean people’s three meals, but also furniture from China such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, sleep aids, toys and other spiritual management products, and beauty and skin care products are also popular among Koreans. .

From the overall data of China's exports to South Korea, in the first quarter of 2021, domestic sales in South Korea directly rushed to 406 million U.S. dollars. Compared with the sales of 150 million U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2020, it increased by 223.6% year-on-year. Not so fast, it eclipses other countries.

South Korean people's high income promotes high spending power

Recently, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held the 68th Trade and Development Board meeting in Geneva and officially recognized South Korea as a developed country.

In 2019, the average annual income of Koreans was approximately RMB 284,000. By the first quarter of 2021, the average monthly income of Koreans had exceeded RMB 26,000. The high income of the people means high spending power, and the ability to accept high customer unit prices is also stronger.

Now, more and more Korean consumers are not satisfied with domestic products and have turned their attention to overseas direct mail products. With its own logistics convenience and freight advantages, China's exports of direct mail products are becoming more and more popular among Koreans.

In 2020, the top-selling food and beverage category in the Korean e-commerce market will have sales of 17.61 billion U.S. dollars, followed by household appliances and electronic communication equipment with sales of 16.23 billion U.S. dollars, catering services 15.5 billion U.S. dollars, and cosmetics 11.12 billion U.S. dollars.

Among them, catering services increased by the highest 78% over the same period, food and beverages 46.3%, and household appliances 27%.

South Korea becomes the country with the highest e-commerce penetration rate in the world

South Korea is currently the country with the fastest growth rate and the highest e-commerce penetration rate in the world. According to statistics from the Korea Statistics Office, the sales of online shopping in the Korean retail industry have exceeded 140 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. From 2018 to 2020, the annual growth rate of online shopping has exceeded 16%.

In the first quarter of 2021, Korean cross-border e-commerce online purchases increased by 44.2% year-on-year, setting a sales performance of up to 12.36 billion U.S. dollars, and also the largest amount and increase in history.

Moreover, the epidemic has greatly affected the consumer life of Korean people. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (The Federation of Industry and Commerce) previously released the results of a survey on changes in consumer behavior in the new crown era. The results showed that 78.4% of respondents said that after the new crown pandemic, online shopping expenditures have increased.

The category with the largest increase in online shopping frequency is food (70.8%, you can choose more than one), followed by dining out and takeaway (30.9%), kitchen and daily necessities (30%), fashion and clothing (28.1%). The reasons for the increase in online shopping are convenient delivery (58%), fear of infection and avoiding going out (57.2%), and low prices (50.3%).

93.6% of the respondents answered that the time spent at home has become longer due to the epidemic, so the increased activities are shopping (61.3%), watching movies (54%), playing games (34.6%), cooking (34.5%), and exercising (23.3). %). Forty percent of the respondents answered that they had experienced retaliatory consumption in the past year.

Will the South Korean market become the next gold nugget? There is no doubt about this.