Tmon, an e-commerce platform here, said Monday it would deliver 29.1 million won ($23,625) raised from donations to a teenager suffering from a rare skin disease. To mark this year’s Children’s Day – on May 5 -- Tmon said it partnered with Miral Welfare Foundation, a local nongovernmental organization, to start a social donation campaign on its platform for a teenage patient named Park Jun-seo. The 15-year-old patient has been suffering from an unidentified skin disease, in w

Demand, sales of chicken breasts soar, upping competition among food, home meal replacement companies

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led to a change in the home appliance consumption trends, with increased popularity of electronics helping household chores and less demand for grooming and beauty-related products, according to the retail industry Sunday. According to Homeplus, a South Korean discount chain, the sales of dishwashers and dish dryers jumped by 36 times in March and April compared to a year earlier. On the list of best-selling products by sales, those machines soared

Once industry-leading dairy firm faces boycott after series of controversies

South Korean liquor maker HiteJinro said Friday it will renew its flagship soju product Chamisul Fresh, lowering the alcoholic content by 0.1 percent to 16.9 percent to match with rival soju brands. Chamisul Fresh is the No. 1 soju brand by sales here. According to the company, the renewed Chamisul Fresh is produced by applying different manufacturing techniques and it will also change part of the package design, to add Environmental Product Declaration mark issued by Korea Environmental Ind

Online shopping surged nearly 12 percent from a year earlier in March, data showed Wednesday, an apparent outcome of the new coronavirus outbreak that forced people to stay home. The value of online transactions came to about 12.58 trillion won ($10.3 billion) in the month, up 11.8 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The increase followed a 24.5 percent on-year spike the previous month. The sharp increase in March was largely attributed to the

Retailers roll out themed goods as established brands aim to refresh identities

After COVID-19 dampened consumer sentiment for the first quarter, retailers are pinning their hopes on Family Month and are rolling out various promotions to get consumers to open their wallets in May. May is usually a good month for the retail industry because of three holidays that tend to increase consumer spending on gifts for loved ones and teachers. Tuesday is Children’s Day, Friday is Parents’ Day and Teachers’ Day is May 15. To ease the burden on consumers amid th

South Korean e-commerce platform Coupang launched a same-day Rocket Fresh service Wednesday. The service will allow customers who order fresh food items before 10 a.m. to receive them by 6 p.m. The Rocket Fresh service has been operating its dawn overnight deliveries since October 2018. Coupang said the same-day service has been offered in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak as demands for online groceries shopping soared over the past months. Coupang said it offers 8,500 fresh food options,

South Korea’s online shopping rate was listed as second highest in the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a research firm said Monday. According to dunnhumby, a global customer data science company , Korea ranked second after China in the survey studying online consumption patterns, conducted with 7,677 consumers in 19 countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 19 countries include five in Asia -- South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand; 10 from Europe -- S

Department stores are jumping into “live commerce” by livestreaming services -- providing indirect shopping experiences -- to tackle weakened sales amid the COVID-19 outbreak, according to industry sources Friday. Hyundai Department Store said it will run a livestream fashion show dubbed “2020 Digital Live Fashion Show” at 7 p.m. on Saturday. It is the first time a department store will run a fashion show without audience. The online fashion show will be livestreamed

Amorepacific Group, a leading cosmetics company here, announced a plan on Wednesday to use less plastic to safeguard health and the environment. Wednesday was Earth Day. The company’s “less plastic” campaign consists of three actions: to reduce the use of plastic packaging for its products, to recycle more of its plastic packaging and to increase the use of upcycled materials to produce its products. “We will continue to stand up front in creating a happier, more beau

Boost driven by sales of instant noodles amid pandemic

Orion, a South Korean confectionery company, said Tuesday it recorded sales of 208.3 billion won ($168 million) in March, an increase of 41 percent on-year. The sales of snack products in its biggest markets, South Korea, China and Vietnam, also grew 82 percent on-year for the month, the company added. “Newly released snacks have gained popularity and our snack portfolio, which originally revolved around pie products, is becoming more diverse,” Orion said. In March, South Korea

Korean food company SPC Group said Tuesday that its affiliate SPC Samlip has acquired the exclusive contract for operations in Korea of Eggslut, a popular egg sandwich franchise in California, as well as the license for Singapore. The company said it will introduce the first Eggslut store in Korea at Coex Mall in Seoul in June. US brand Eggslut is famous for its egg sandwiches made with a warm brioche bun, scrambled eggs and sriracha mayo sauce. “We are pleased to show Korean guests t