Source: Xinhua News Agency
Beijing, 16 Oct (Xinhua) -- With the increasing popularity of online shopping, many large supermarket chains in Korea are facing competitive pressure and have transformed to adapt to the new situation. They are gradually focusing on fruits, vegetables, fresh food and other foods, and are no longer like supermarkets where everything can be bought in the traditional sense.
Citizens of Seoul, Korea, shop at a supermarket on July 5, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yiliang
Korea's "JoongAng Daily" recently reported that many people have noticed an interesting phenomenon: now casually walk into a store of the large supermarket chain Homeplus in Seoul, the capital of Korea, you can see a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, kimchi, instant noodles, snacks, ready-to-eat food, etc., but to buy soap, detergent and other daily necessities, it is not so easy, sometimes even if it is sold in the store, it is placed on the most inconspicuous shelf.
In the past, supermarkets gave the impression of "selling everything", from household appliances to books and stationery, from groceries to bags, shoes and clothing. However, in recent years, with the popularity of online shopping, Korea consumers prefer to choose to buy home appliances, cosmetics, clothing, shoes and hats from the Internet, because the price is lower and the delivery speed is faster, and the demand for these goods in supermarkets is reduced.
Workers sort packages at an express freight center in Seoul, Korea, on September 10. Xinhua News Agency (photo taken by Quanxiu)
According to Jeon Mi-young, a researcher at Seoul National University, due to the small size of the city, the timeliness advantage of online shopping is more obvious in Korea, and next-day delivery has long been easily achieved, and some merchants can even achieve home delivery for consumers within 30 minutes, "so that they do not need to go to physical stores."
In addition, even if they need to go to offline physical stores, many consumers in Korea will go to affordable daily necessities sales stores such as "Daiso". Daiso often sells goods that range from 1,000 won to 3,000 won (about 5.22 to 15.66 yuan).
In the face of the new situation, the three major supermarket chains in Korea, Homeplus, E-Mart, and Lotte Mart, have adopted a similar response: no longer pursuing the sale of all categories of products, but focusing on food.
According to industry insiders, Korea's large supermarket chains have built a large and tight sales network through decades, which makes them not only more time-efficient than online shopping platforms in selling fresh food, refrigerated and frozen food, but also often more price-oriented.
People read and relax at the open-air library by the Cheonggye River in Seoul, Korea, on April 19. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yao Qilin
A Lotte Mart spokesperson told Korea media that the brand's supermarkets can sell live crabs, but online shopping platforms often can only sell ice crabs to be delivered by express delivery, and there is a gap in the consumer experience between the two.
A spokesperson for E-Mart said that the supermarket orders large quantities directly from the source farm, which can not only ensure supply, but also try to maintain price stability, which has obvious advantages.
Homeplus disclosed that in the past two years, it has successively transformed its 31 comprehensive supermarkets into food-oriented stores, and achieved good results, with their sales increasing by 95% year-on-year in 2023.
However, the market is changing rapidly, and people's spending habits are constantly changing. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in April this year, about 65.5% of respondents made the most frequent online purchases last year as food. This is also the first time since the survey was carried out, that food products have surpassed clothing and cosmetics to become the top spot.
Observers said that more than 10 years ago, when online shopping was first booming, many consumers were afraid to buy clothes online for fear that the size or color would not be suitable, but now, accurate color correction, size reference, return and exchange services have solved consumer concerns, and online clothing sales have increased significantly.
We believe that consumers may also turn more to online groceries in the future, and that large supermarket chains still face new variables and challenges. (Yang Shuyi)