S. Korean consumers choose perfumes over color makeup to express themselves : consumer data

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SEOUL -- The perfume sales of the department store wing of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group have recorded an annual average growth rate of 40 percent since the first outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea in early 2020. The department store said more consumers choose perfumes over color makeup products to express their unique identities. Currently, wearing a face mask is compulsory inside office buildings, public transport and other indoor and outdoor public facilities.

Lotte Department store said in a statement on February 9 that its perfume sales increased by 70 percent in January 2022 from the same period a year ago. The amount of perfume sales exceeded 100 billion won ($83.5 million) in 2021. The department store operator analyzed that more consumers chose perfume products to express themselves rather than using color makeup products because their face is covered by a mask all the time.

Data released by the national statistical office showed that the online sales of cosmetic products decreased by 12.1 percent in December 2021 from a year ago. "We predict that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the online sales of cosmetic products," a Statistics Korea official told Aju Business Daily.

Instead of using cosmetics products, young South Korean consumers are expressing their unique styles through other fashion items such as luxury goods. South Korea's luxury goods market reached 14.9 trillion won in 2020. Customers in their 20s' online luxury goods consumption increased by 80 percent in 2020 from a year ago. South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae attributed the increase to "revenge spending" of young consumers who were not able to travel overseas because of the epidemic.

Kim Joo-heon jhkim123@ajunews.com

S. Korean consumers choose perfumes over color makeup to express themselves : consumer data

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