Online hair salon bookings up 365%: Gmarket

Gmarket reported sharp increases in sales of vouchers for hairdressing salons, restaurant meals and cinema seats, the e-commerce giant said Thursday, calling it a sign that consumption is recovering.

Sales of restaurant vouchers between May 21 and June 20 rose 67 percent on-year at Gmarket, while sales of movie tickets and vouchers for hairdressing salons respectively soared 183 percent and 365 percent on-year, the firm added.

Auction, another one of the country’s major online shopping platforms, also reported increased sales of restaurant vouchers. Sales of vouchers for restaurants serving Western or fusion cuisine soared 745 percent on-year, while sales of Chinese or Japanese restaurant vouchers jumped 349 percent.

Sales of vouchers for beauty clinics and hair salons jumped 100 percent and 93 percent on-year, respectively, Auction added.

An official from Gmarket said, “Ongoing vaccinations have driven consumer optimism about the recovery from the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company expects sales of vouchers and other goods to increase against the backdrop of the summer vacation season.”

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)