CJ Olive Young (hereafter Olive Young) said on the 3rd that the cumulative purchase amount spent by foreign tourists at its offline stores nationwide from January to November this year surpassed 1 trillion won. Compared with the annual figure in 2022, when the endemic transition began, the number is about 26 times higher. The foreign-customer share, which was in the 2% range of total sales at the time, first rose into double digits in 2023 and surpassed 25% this year. As it has established itself as a must-visit stop on Korea travel itineraries, the number of global consumers seeking K-beauty has surged.
During this period, 88% of domestic cosmetics payments processed by Global Tax Free occurred at Olive Young stores. Put simply, 9 out of 10 foreigners who come to Korea to buy cosmetics stop by Olive Young. Customers using the refund service came from 190 United Nations member states, making the company function not just as a distribution channel but as a hub for "inbound exports" that attracts foreign currency.
Foreigners' K-beauty consumption is changing not only in scale but also in trends. According to the report "K-beauty, reread through the eyes of foreign visitors," published by Olive Young, about 40% of foreigners who purchased products at Olive Young this year visited two or more stores.
The range of brand consumption is also widening. Fifty-eight percent of foreign customers purchased six or more brands, and 1 in 3 customers (33%) put 10 or more into their baskets.
Demand for K-beauty is also expanding into overall wellness. From January to October this year, the number of purchases grew sharply year over year not only in basic skincare (50%) and color cosmetics (43%) but also in healthy life (45%) and healthy food (42%) categories.
Behind this shift is Olive Young's "global tourism commercial district strategy," launched in earnest in 2023. After reopening its Myeong-dong town store in November last year following a renovation, the company this year set up a dedicated organization for global customers and revamped stores, products, and services to center on overseas customers.
Olive Young also designated commercial districts where foreigners account for more than 50% as "global tourism commercial districts" for focused operations, and expanded specialized stores to places like Gyeongju and Jeju to respond to the trend of dispersing tourism demand across regions. By adding more multilingual staff, experiential services, easy payment options, and zones dedicated to popular items, it strengthened the "K-beauty shopping experience." As of November this year, the number of designated global tourism commercial district stores more than doubled from 60 last year to 135.
An Olive Young official said, "Reaching 1 trillion won in purchases by foreign visitors to Korea is especially meaningful as it represents the results achieved by numerous small and indie brands meeting global customers through Olive Young," and added, "We will continue working so K-beauty becomes both a reason to revisit Korea and a leading content of inbound tourism."