Consumption based on certain intellectual properties (IP) is gaining attention amid domestic recession. As retail sales decline due to economic downturn, strategies to attract crowds through powerful IP content are becoming prevalent.
According to the retail industry on the 19th, Lotte Department Store recently successfully held a pop-up store to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the five-member virtual idol group “PLAVE” at its Seoul World Tower branch. According to Lotte, the online pre-booking conducted last month before the pop-up store opened sold out in two hours, with more than 25,000 people waiting to connect.
Lotte launched a ‘live photo zone’ where visitors can take photos with the members, along with video screenings and the first-ever release of 70 types of official anniversary goods. They also unveiled products featuring PLAVE’s Super Deformed (SD) character “MMMM” for the first time.
Yudo Won, a buyer from Lotte Department Store’s fashion accessory team, noted, “The genre of K-pop is gaining attention as a culture worldwide” and added, “We plan to expand spaces where artists and fans can interact and enjoy K-pop content in the provinces, including the PLAVE pop-up.”
◇ Limited edition virtual idol products ‘open run’
Lotte Mart and Lotte Super recorded a huge success last November by exclusively selling Pepero in collaboration with PLAVE for Pepero Day. On the launch day, there were long lines at Lotte Mart and Super nationwide for the open run of the limited edition products, and 90% of the prepared stock was sold out within one hour of opening. Due to the unexpected response, Lotte Mart and Lotte Super produced additional stock for sale.
The virtual idol group PLAVE, which debuted in 2023, has a global fandom strong enough to enter the U.S. Billboard’s ‘Global 200’ chart. Top idol G-Dragon recently mentioned PLAVE as an artist he would like to collaborate with.
It’s not just PLAVE. The top two pop-up sales rankings at The Hyundai Seoul, which runs more than 400 pop-up stores annually, were occupied by the virtual idols “Isekai Idol” and PLAVE. Last March, this department store held a relay pop-up store featuring three virtual idol groups, ISEGYE IDOL, StelLive, and PLAVE, attracting a total of 100,000 visitors. During this period, sales surpassed 7 billion won.
Considering that the average monthly sales of pop-up stores by fashion brands are around 1 billion won, this is an extraordinary achievement, Hyundai explained.
◇ Fandom consumption highlighted amid recession
Many in the industry view the popularity of collaborations with virtual idols in the retail sector as a result of the prolonged domestic recession. As consumers minimize unnecessary spending, fandom consumption based on IP is seen as unaffected by economic conditions.
Additionally, from the perspective of advertisers, a key advantage of virtual idols is the lack of concerns over controversies related to crime or dating rumors. It is reportedly known that when related events are conducted, the average spending per customer is high. Reviews can easily be found on social media platforms like YouTube, stating that people have spent more than 200,000 won on purchasing goods at the PLAVE pop-up store.
According to the ’2024 User Survey Report by Content Genre' published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the experience of using character products increased by 2.0 percentage points (p) to 95.7% compared to the previous year. Additionally, the experience of purchasing related products increased by 5.4 percentage points to 81.5% due to the popularization of character fandom.
In the same period, the retail sales index decreased by 2.2% compared to the previous year. The retail sales index is a measure that investigates how much consumers shop at retail outlets such as marts, convenience stores, and supermarkets.
As a result, the retail industry is expanding events using IP. According to the ’2024 Pop-up Store Market Trends' report released by Sweet Spot, a pop-up store specialized company, a total of 1,713 pop-up stores were held last year in the country. By institutional sector, it accounted for 22% IP, 21% fashion, 16% food and beverage, and 11% beauty.
Following the completion of pop-up stores led by virtual idols last year, The Hyundai Seoul’s sales rankings also included IP content from game-focused YouTube channels like “SleepGround,” the “Poo Bao” panda family, and “Manggeureojin Gom.” The Hyundai Seoul operates about 440 pop-up stores annually, with related sales estimated at 55 billion won.
A source from the retail industry stated, “IP marketing targeting characters or creators with highly loyal fandoms can secure stable sales through voluntary promotion (viral) marketing by fans,” and added, “We plan to continue expanding related events in the future.”