Foreigners' cumulative purchases at CJ Olive Young's offline stores in Korea topped 1 trillion won this year. The 1 trillion won mark was crossed three months earlier than last year, with foreign spending spreading beyond Seoul into non-capital regions.
CJ Olive Young said on the 31st that, as of August this year, foreigners' cumulative purchases at its offline stores in Korea surpassed 1 trillion won. The figure topped 1 trillion won in November last year, but the achievement came three months earlier this year.
Foreign sales from January to August this year rose 47% from a year earlier. The cumulative number of payment transactions reached 11.01 million, which translates to roughly one foreign transaction every 0.9 seconds during store operating hours.
The share of foreigners in offline sales rose from 2% in 2022 to 33% last month. Based on tax refund data from Global Tax Free (GTF), foreigners who bought products at Olive Young came from 192 countries.
The top five countries by cumulative purchases this year are the United States, Singapore, Japan, China and Thailand. Foreign customers bought an average of six items, and 35% spent more than 100,000 won per visit.
Foreign spending is also growing rapidly outside the capital region. In Gangwon from January to August this year, foreign sales rose 105% from a year earlier. Gyeongju (88%), Daejeon (80%) and Jeonju (62%) also outpaced the overall foreign sales growth rate of 47%.
Olive Young designates and operates areas with high foreign visitation as "global tourist commercial districts," based on the number of foreign customers and sales share. As of August this year, there were 151 such stores nationwide, exceeding 10% of all locations. In major tourist destinations such as Busan and Jeju, the company plans to pursue large-store remodels and expand regionally specialized outlets.
The categories sought by foreign shoppers are also diversifying. From January to August this year, foreign sales of "dermo skincare," grounded in dermatological science, increased 78% from a year earlier. Inner-beauty sales rose 64%, and demand is growing for functional hair-care products such as hair tonics and ampoules.
An Olive Young official said, "We will strengthen our role as the 'infrastructure of the K-tourism industry' by leveraging large stores and regionally tailored specialty outlets not only in Seoul but also outside the capital region."