Online gift-giving catches on amid COVID-19 woes

As giving gifts in person is harder to do this year amid calls to reduce human contact to stop the spread of the coronavirus, online gift-giving is enjoying a surge in popularity, industry sources indicated Sunday.

SSG.com, retail giant Shinsegae Group’s online shopping platform, said sales generated from its gift service saw a 64.6 percent year-on-year increase between January and November this year, citing internal data.

Among the brands available on the website, it was coffeehouse chain Starbucks that enjoyed the biggest growth in online sales as of late, posting a 50 percent jump between Dec. 2 and Dec. 8 compared with a week ago, when the online store was launched. Some of the most popular items include gift cards with vouchers that can be digitally redeemed, as well as merchandise such as tumblers.

Beauty products also fared well as gifts, enjoying a year-on-year sales increase of over 107 percent between January and November. That is twice the growth figure for the beauty category as a whole, including non-gift purchases, the online retailer added.

The figures come as the health authorities urge citizens to cancel all year-end gatherings in the face of a massive third wave of COVID-19 infections.

This, coupled with growing demand for gifts in the year-end shopping season, is driving the online gift-giving trend, the online retailer said.

“As more shoppers plan on buying year-end gifts online, we are working to expand the range of items available,” one official at SSG.com said.

Social commerce platform Tmon, known for offering a wide range of items, including travel packages and flight tickets, is also seeing a similar trend.

“As the non-face-to-face culture spreads, an increasing number of shoppers are opting for online gift-giving.

“With the first Christmas post-pandemic and the year-end season approaching, we expect more people to give gifts to their loved ones using the gift service,” one official at the company said.

Tmon launched its mobile gift service in November last year. Using the service, a customer can make a purchase simply by typing in the recipient’s phone number and leaving an accompanying message.

This eliminates the hassle of asking for the person’s address or when and how to deliver the parcel.

Earlier this year, Coupang also launched a similar service exclusively for its Rocket Delivery members -- a monthly subscription-based delivery membership service similar to Amazon Prime.

The company said the number of customers using its gift feature has grown “rapidly” since its launch in April.

Among the most popular products are birthday gifts, items within the price range of around 10,000 ($9) and social media-approved items, one Coupang official said.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)