Pork top sales at major supermarkets during first half of 2024

E-Mart ‘Home Vacation’ Food Event. [Courtesy of Emart]

Pork, beer, and Hanwoo (South Korean beef) emerged as the top-selling items at major domestic supermarkets such as Emart and Lotte Mart in the first half of 2024. High inflation and economic downturn have driven consumers to opt for home-cooked meals over dining out, leading to a significant increase in sales of eggs, instant noodles, and canned goods.

Emart reported on Sunday that the top three sales items for the first half of 2024 were pork, beer, and Hanwoo, mirroring the rankings from the same period during the previous year. The next three highest-selling items were eggs, canned goods, and instant noodles, each moving up one spot and displacing Australian beef, which came in at fourth place in 2024.

Similarly, Lotte Mart reported that pork, Hanwoo, and beer were its top three sales items for the first half of 2024. Beer sales were up about 20 percent compared to the previous year, moving it to the third spot ahead of milk. Like Emart, eggs and instant noodles were also among the top sellers, ranking sixth and seventh respectively.

Pork has consistently been the top-selling item in major supermarket sales every year. At Emart, beer sales, which ranked second, were only 61 percent of pork sales and at Lotte Mart, pork sales were more than 15 percent higher than those of Hanwoo, which ranked second.

Contrary to the widely held belief that soju sells well during economic downturns, the alcoholic beverage ranked lower than beer and wine. This trend is attributed to the increasing number of “home drinkers” who prefer to enjoy beer, wine, and whiskey at home, a cultural shift that has been reinforced since the Covid-19 pandemic.