"A Chanel Handbag Instead of a Trip" Department Store Sales of Luxury Items Increases 45%: "Angry Spending" Due to COVID-19?

[경향신문]

Customers wait in line to enter the Chanel store at Lotte Department Store in Sogong-dong, Seoul on June 29. Yonhap News

Department store sales in the first half of this year increased 30% from the same period last year. Due to the novel coronavirus, last year, stores recorded negative sales. In addition to the base effect from last year’s performance, the suppressed consumer sentiment appears to have exploded, leading to more sales of luxury goods.

According to the “Retail Sales Trend” released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on July 27, major retailers saw their sales in the first half of this year increase by 12.1% year-over-year.

In offline sales, the increase in sales was most dramatic in department stores, which recorded a 26.2% increase. In the first half of last year, department store sales dropped 12.9% due to COVID-19, but this year, sales have bounced back. Department stores also accounted for 16.9% of all retail sales, 15.0% higher than a year ago.

A closer look at the products sold at department stores showed that the growth in sales of luxury brands was most notable (45.0%). Children’s products and sporting goods (35.1%) and home goods (28.8%) also showed a double-digit growth in sales. An official from the trade ministry said, “As restrictions on overseas travel continue, sales of famous foreign brands increased, and golf products are also showing a strong performance. Basically, sales in all product categories have increased.”

However, sales at major discount retailers only increased 0.3% and sales at convenience stores increased 6.2%. Meanwhile, sales at super supermarkets (SSMs) fell 10.0%. More people are purchasing living goods and miscellaneous goods online and the poor sales of food seem to have contributed to the drop in sales at SSMs.

Online retailers like Coupang contributed to the increase in online grocery shopping, and the online sales of food continued to grow 27.1%. As food delivery becomes more popular, the sales of services and other goods also jumped 40.4%, towing the growth of online sales in general (16.1%).