Olive Young said on the 22nd that the number of foreign customers returning to Korea is rising sharply in step with Ollyoung Sale, its regular sale event.
After Olive Young and Global Tax Free (GTF), Korea's No. 1 tax refund corporations, analyzed foreign customer data, it tallied that the number of foreigners who visited Korea consecutively during the two Ollyoung Sale periods in March and June this year to enjoy K-beauty shopping rose 11 times compared with three years ago.
Ollyoung Sale is Olive Young's flagship regular discount event held four times a year in March, June, September and December. More than 1,500 beauty brands take part to offer discounts on a wide range of products, including skincare, color cosmetics, hair and body items, and health supplements. In particular, because shoppers can browse the signature products of popular domestic and overseas brands at Olive Young alongside emerging K-beauty brands all at once, it has taken hold as a shopping festival for foreign tourists to experience the latest K-beauty trends.
Since 2023, the number of foreigners who return to Korea at least twice a year timed to Ollyoung Sale has been doubling on average annually through recent months. Last year, more than 6,200 foreign tourists revisited Korea three or more times during Ollyoung Sale periods, according to the tally. Considering that travelers must depart within a set period for tax refund procedures, it is interpreted that they visited Korea to shop, returned home, and then came back again timed to Ollyoung Sale.
Ollyoung Sale has grown beyond a simple discount event to become tourism content through which foreign tourists experience everyday life in Korea. In particular, aligning with the trend of "K daily-cation," which enjoys Korea's everyday culture, it is also seen as boosting consumption outside the greater Seoul area.
In fact, during the Ollyoung Sale this June, foreign sales at stores outside the greater Seoul area rose 72% from a year earlier. That far outpaced the nationwide average foreign sales growth rate of 45% during the same period. As online demand from overseas customers who could not visit Korea in person also increased, visitors to Olive Young's global mall during the same period climbed more than 180% from last year.
An Olive Young official said, "The rise in foreigners returning to Korea during Ollyoung Sale shows that Olive Young has become content in itself beyond being a leading K-beauty brand," adding, "We will continue to enhance foreign tourist satisfaction with Olive Young's differentiated capabilities and keep expanding the touchpoints where K-beauty brands meet global customers."