Lotte Mart said on the 25th that sales from preorders of Lunar New Year gift sets, held from Dec. 26 last year to the 23rd of this month, rose 87% from a year earlier. Preorders for Lunar New Year gift sets run through Feb. 6.
According to Lotte Mart, this preorder performance was driven by "value-for-money gift sets" priced under 50,000 won. In response to prolonged high inflation, more than half of about 800 Lunar New Year preorder gift sets were priced under 50,000 won, and that translated into purchases, with value-for-money gift set sales up 93% from last year.
By item, in fruit, sets priced in the 40,000 won range accounted for half of sales among value-for-money fruit gift sets. Sales of the L.Point member price item in the 30,000 won range, "GAP apples washed clean (11–12 pieces)," and the 40,000 won range "Chungju Fresh Shine apples (17–20 pieces)" roughly tripled. The preorder limited set in the 20,000 won range, "Cheongdo practical semi-dried persimmons (20 pieces)," was also the top seller among value-for-money sets.
Also popular were famous origin direct-shipped gift sets in the 30,000–40,000 won range such as "Patagonia fresh salmon" and "Badaone famous-origin Tongyeong-Yeosu anchovy set." For seaweed gift sets, sales increased mainly for exclusive items such as the price-frozen "Daecheon gopchang-gim gift set 6 cans (25g*6 packs)."
For processed food sets, practical sets in the 10,000–30,000 won range accounted for more than half of processed food gift set sales. Representative among them, the 30,000 won range "CJ Spam 12K" sold the most.
In particular, sales of convenient meal sets featuring menus from famous restaurants or brunch items quintupled from a year earlier, establishing a new trend in holiday gifts. In fact, premium products in the 60,000–70,000 won range, such as the "Samihun LA galbi set" and the "Goraesa Eomuk gift set No. 5," led sales rather than value-for-money gift sets.
Exclusive collaboration products with Chef Choi Kang-rok, who appeared on Netflix's cooking survival entertainment program Culinary Class Wars, such as "Choi Kang-rok's It's Me LA galbi set" and "Choi Kang-rok's It's Me Wagyu yakiniku set," also drew attention. Lotte Mart said the appeal was that consumers could easily replicate a famous chef's recipes at home.
Shin Eun-jung, head of product strategy at Lotte Mart and Lotte Super, said, "We put together a balanced lineup of practical value-for-money sets that take high inflation into account and value-consumption products that reflect individual tastes," adding, "We hope you'll prepare Lunar New Year gifts wisely by taking advantage of preorder benefits."