Gmarket kicks off ‘Mega G Festival’ for foreign shoppers

Gmarket is holding its Mega G Festival, an online shopping event targeted at foreign shoppers at home and abroad until next Tuesday, offering discounts for a wide range of items including K-pop albums, K-beauty and Korean food products.

The event kicked off on the Gmarket Global Shop in conjunction with eBay Korea’s Big Smile Day, a shopping event organized by operators of multiple e-commerce platforms including Gmarket, Auction and G9. The event saw some 2.87 million items sold on its opening day, according to the company.

The online retailer attributed three factors to Mega G Festival’s popularity and success: “Fast delivery which takes up to three days within the country,” “acceptance of international credit cards” and “social media marketing efforts.”

First launched in 2006, Gmarket Global Shop offers a full English-language service. In 2013, the company also launched a Chinese-language website to expand its reach.

Up to 70 percent discounts are being offered on items ranging from fashion, beauty, K-pop, food and household goods from various brands such as Tonymoly, Innisfree and Clio.

Latest albums and merchandise from K-pop idol groups are among the most popular items in the US and Russia, according to eBay Korea, while K-beauty and K-fashion products have been well-received in Hong Kong. Children’s items are bestsellers in Taiwan, the company added.

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