With high inflation dragging on, shoppers are turning more decisively to value-oriented Chuseok gifts. Even at department stores, where demand for premium items such as high-end Korean beef and dried yellow croaker has been strong, sales are rising for relatively cheaper pork sets, gift packages priced around 100,000 won and small-portion products aimed at one- and two-person households.
Preorder sales of Chuseok gift sets at the three major department store chains — Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store — from mid-August through early September showed a marked increase in items with lower price tags, according to retail industry sources on the 20th. At Lotte Department Store, sales of pork gift sets priced in the 100,000-won range rose 50% from the preorder period for last year's Chuseok. The shift is attributed to the lighter price burden compared with Korean beef sets costing 300,000 won or more. Among shoppers in their 20s and 30s, sales of pork gift sets climbed 60%, drawing a strong response from younger consumers.
In Shinsegae's seafood category, the "Shinsegae Silver Hairtail" set priced in the 200,000-won range was the top seller during the preorder period. Yeonggwang dried yellow croaker sets, a traditional holiday favorite, are priced between 350,000 won and 550,000 won. Demand clearly gravitated toward items carrying a lighter price burden. In fresh produce, the "Shinsegae Apple and Pear Dabok" set priced in the 150,000-won range ranked first in volume, while the "Shinsegae Hamper Value" set priced under 100,000 won also ranked among the top sellers.
Sales of small-portion products also grew. During Lotte Department Store's preorder period, sales of small-pack items in the meat category rose 75% from a year earlier. Small-pack sales in the seafood category rose 65% over the same period. Products such as gochujang-marinated dried croaker, with portions cut from the standard 500 grams to around 200 grams to ease the price burden, drove the gains. At Hyundai Department Store, small-pack items including the "Hyundai Premium Korean Beef Sodam Mae" set sold out early, drawing a similarly strong response. "Shoppers can divide the portions to eat as much as they need, and the total price burden is lower — that is behind the growing demand," a department store official said.
The growth in preorder sales itself reflects the same value-seeking behavior. Chuseok gift set preorder sales this year rose 55% from a year earlier at all three chains — Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store. Early-bird benefits such as credit card discounts and gift certificate giveaways are typically concentrated in the preorder period rather than the main sales run. Demand to buy the same gift even slightly cheaper showed up as higher preorder sales.
The surge in demand for value-oriented gifts was even more pronounced at hypermarkets. During this year's Chuseok gift set preorder period, sales of sets priced between 50,000 won and 100,000 won rose 21% at E-Mart and 10% at Lotte Mart from a year earlier. At Lotte Mart in particular, sales of Korean beef gift sets rose 4.9% while sales of pork gift sets jumped fivefold.
Behind the trend is inflation that has built up over an extended period. A survey by the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation of purchase costs for 34 holiday staple items for an ancestral rite table for a family of six, conducted at 25 locations including traditional markets and hypermarkets in Seoul, found the average cost of preparing this year's Chuseok table rose 5.1% from last year. Vegetable prices rose an average of 14.7% from a year earlier, while livestock products rose 7.4%.
"Chuseok is a time when spending rises beyond gifts to include travel costs, cash gifts and holiday meals, so amid high inflation, demand for value-oriented items with lower price burdens is expected to stay strong through the main sales period as well," a retail industry official said. "The search for reasonably priced items such as pork sets will continue for some time."
