On the 11th at 8 p.m., at a studio in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. As the cue sign signaled the start of Gmarket's "Sold-out Show," the live broadcast began with comedian Eom Ji-yoon's lively greeting. As soon as the feed went live, the chat filled with comments certifying purchases by posting the order numbers for the day's items.
For the broadcast, comedian Eom Ji-yoon served as the main MC alongside two show hosts. The cast introduced Crown·Haitai Confectionery snacks, CJ CheilJedang Spam and frozen chicken, and Gmarket's in-house product Easy Kkini multigrain rice, in that order. They tasted the prepared food and described the flavors, and they unboxed the freebies offered with purchases to show the components and build quality.
Sold-out Show is a talk show-style live commerce program that Gmarket rolled out for the first time to coincide with this year's first-half mega sale, "Big Smile Day." A celebrity serves as the main MC and introduces each episode's products like "guests." It runs for one hour from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays from May 6 to 19 during Big Smile Day.
The main MCs for Sold-out Show include comedian Lee Chang-ho (on the 7th), broadcaster Park Ji-yoon (on the 8th), comedian Eom Ji-yoon (on the 11th), former UFC fighter Kim Dong-hyun (on the 12th), comedians Lee Yong-ju and Kim Min-su (on the 13th), influencers Tongdak Cheonsa and Oknyang-i (on the 14th), comedian Park Se-mi (on the 15th), influencer Harry Potter (on the 18th), and broadcaster Jang Sung-kyu (on the 19th). Gmarket will draw one person from among customers who certify a purchase for each episode and give a prize worth 1 million won. Products sold during the live broadcast also come with special discounts and freebies.
Gmarket rolled out a new live format for Big Smile Day because it has become difficult to differentiate platform competitiveness with price cuts alone. Until now, live commerce typically featured a show host introducing a single brand or category and relaying sales information.
By contrast, Sold-out Show places a celebrity front and center on a talk show-style set and bundles a variety of product categories together. Each episode selects a different theme—such as food, digital and home appliances, beauty and accessories, or gaming—and introduces multiple brands under a single concept.
Sold-out Show was arranged with Gmarket proactively planning a differentiated format and the appearing brands proposing competitive products and perks. To that end, starting in March, Gmarket formed a task force (TF) that brought together the sales division and the MD (merchandising) team. They prepared the entire event, from product sourcing and recruiting new brands to the platform, to broadcast format planning and booking celebrities.
Kim Ji-su, manager of Gmarket's Live & Big Campaign Team, said, "When Gmarket directly books celebrities and provides the broadcast format, the brands produced the show in a way that offers Gmarket-only special deals or freebies that are hard to expose on other channels."
Sold-out Show is seeing higher traffic than existing programs such as G-Live that Gmarket has run, and qualitative indicators like comments and "likes," as well as sales metrics, are also higher. On the 6th, the PlayStation episode hosted by influencer "Harry Potter" recorded 470,000 views in one hour, and the limited batch of 300 units sold out. The broadcast hosted by comedian Lee Chang-ho on the 7th also logged 600,000 views in one hour, and most of the prepared home appliances were sold.
The food broadcast on the 11th, with Eom Ji-yoon as the main MC, was also a hit. The show recorded more than 520,000 page views (PV) in one hour, and there were 3,990 chat messages—about four times the overall broadcast average. Orders placed during the show were six times higher than the live average for processed foods.
Gmarket plans to use this Big Smile Day to expand live commerce from a simple sales channel into a content-style advertising and sales platform. In the increasingly price-competitive e-commerce market, not only how cheaply products are sold but also how long customers watch and engage is emerging as a new competitive factor.
Manager Kim said, "Live commerce delivers strong brand exposure and high customer focus," adding, "from the platform's perspective, this becomes a lever to negotiate better special deals or perks with brands." Kim added, "Consumers are now familiar with live commerce formats run by individuals on YouTube or Instagram," and "Gmarket will expand collaborations with comedians, YouTubers, and creators to match this trend."