It was found that the average sales commission rate for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in department stores is 23.7%, and in big-box retailers it reaches 20.5%.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises announced on Dec. 9 the results of the "2025 offline large-scale retailer transaction status survey," conducted from Sept. 22 to Oct. 24 among 900 SMEs that have entered offline large-scale retailers.
The survey was conducted on about 500 SMEs that have entered five department stores—Galleria, Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai and AK Plaza—and about 400 companies that have entered four big-box retailers—Lotte Mart, Emart, Hanaro Mart and Homeplus Co.
The transaction methods between retailers and SMEs that have entered their stores are divided into special contract purchase, lease type Eul and direct purchase. Special contract purchase is a method in which the retailer takes the SME's goods on credit first and sells them, but can return unsold goods. When sales occur, the retailer deducts a fixed percentage as commission and pays the remainder.
In the lease type Eul, the tenant company rents a store inside the department store or mart, handles sales directly, and pays the retailer a certain percentage of sales as commission. Direct purchase is a method in which the retailer buys the goods and sells them on its own. The profit the retailer keeps here is the margin rate.
The survey found that in department stores, special contract purchase accounted for the highest share at 67.2%, while the main transaction type in big-box retailers was direct purchase (76.3%). In special contract purchase and lease type Eul transactions, the average sales commission rate borne by SMEs was tallied at 23.7% for department stores and 20.5% for big-box retailers.
Department store sales commission rates were highest in household goods, miscellaneous goods and apparel. By company, responses were Shinsegae 38.0%, Lotte 36.0%, Galleria 33.0%, AK 30.0% and Hyundai 26.0%. Among big-box retailers, Emart, Hanaro Mart, Homeplus Co. and Lotte Mart all had a record high of 25.0%. The lowest sales commission rate was Lotte (10.0%) in both department stores and marts.
In direct purchase transactions, the average margin rate was found to be 23.9% for department stores and 20.4% for big-box retailers. Direct purchase margin rates at big-box retailers were high in household goods, miscellaneous goods, and food and health product categories. Homeplus Co. 40.0%, Lotte Mart 35.0%, and Emart and Hanaro Mart 25.0% were tallied as the highest responses. In department stores, Hyundai and Galleria were 30.0%, followed by AK (26.0%) and Lotte and Shinsegae (25.0%).
The proportion of respondents who said they experienced unfair transactions or improper practices was low at 0.2% for department stores and 1.2% for big-box retailers. However, companies pointed to changes during the contract period in commission rates and sales proceeds ratios, and being pressured to participate in promotions and events, as areas that need improvement.
The share who answered that the expansion of online distribution affected a decline in sales was 29.5%. Among companies selling household goods and miscellaneous goods, 34.4% said they experienced a sales decline due to the growth of the online market.
The proportion of SMEs that suffered damage due to some big-box retailers closing stores and shrinking distribution networks was tallied at 7.8%. Companies that experienced damage cited transaction termination (54.8%), difficulty securing new sales channels (19.4%), settlement delays (6.5%), and disruptions to logistics and delivery schedules (9.7%) as difficulties.