Korea Sale Festa returns, bigger and longer than ever

The Korea Sale Festa, Korea's largest annual sale event, will take place from Saturday through Nov. 30. Over 2,400 participating companies will offer discounts on products like automobiles, electronics, food and household goods.

Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Bang Moon-kyu speaks during a meeting with representatives from the retail, electronics and automotive sectors for the 2023 Korea Sale Festa in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The Korea Sale Festa is back again this year, and it's bigger and longer than ever.

The Festa, often compared to America's Black Friday, is Korea's largest annual sale event that involves collaboration between government entities and private businesses. It will be held from Saturday through Nov. 30, and feature more than 2,400 participating companies, in an effort to rejuvenate the nation's stagnant economy.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Bang Moon-kyu held a meeting with heads of various retail, electronics and automotive firms on Tuesday to emphasize the significance of their involvement in the annual sale event. The meeting brought together representatives from prominent players in various sectors, including leading supermarket chains Emart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart; department store giants such as Shinsegae Department Store, Lotte Department Store and Hyundai Department Store Group; executives from the electronics industry, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics; and a senior executive from Hyundai Motor.

The Korea Sale Festa was launched in 2015 in response to a domestic economic slowdown during the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic.

An image promoting sales of Hyundai Motor's vehicles for the upcoming 2023 Korea Sale Festa [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

This year, the event has been extended to 20 days — the previous event lasted 15 days — to counteract the subdued consumer sentiment caused by rising prices. This year's event is anticipated to offer the most extensive discounts ever on products like automobiles, electronics, food and household goods. The automotive industry is preparing discounts of up to 17 percent, while the retail sector is promising deals of up to 50 percent.

In addition to discounts, incentives such as postal shopping coupons, reduced Express Mail Service delivery fees and temporary parking enforcement relief near traditional markets will be introduced.

According to Statistics Korea's October trends, the consumer price index reached 113.37 (100 in 2020), a 3.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, which is the largest increase seen in the latter half of this year. The inflation rate has risen for three consecutive months. This has caused a slowdown in domestic consumption, with the retail sales index falling by 5.2 percent in August compared to the same period last year. That marks the largest decline since March 2020, which was affected by Covid-19.

November is traditionally considered a weak period for consumer spending, sandwiched between the Chuseok harvest holidays and year-end festivities. However, the annual Korea Sale Festa, combined with various retail and online discount events, is expected to offer a respite and encourage consumer spending.

Retail conglomerates are taking the initiative to revitalize shopping during this month.

Lotte Group's retail division, along with 11 other subsidiaries, is hosting the “Lotte Red Festival” shopping extravaganza, featuring a wide array of offerings. Shinsegae Group is gearing up for “SSG Day,” showcasing 1.5 trillion-won worth of products from 20 affiliated companies. Hyundai Department Store Group is presenting “Hyundai Department Store Family Week” with some 10 group companies providing shopping benefits in various sectors.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]