EBay Korea, which operates Gmarket and Auction, holds promotional events during the “Big Smile Day” event from Nov. 1-11, 2018 on Nov. 1. (image: EBay Korea)
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s online malls have raked in sales during massive discount campaigns held well in advance of Black Friday in the United States, according to industry insiders Sunday.
Major online malls and market places presented door-busting deals in early November to entice consumers even before department stores and discount chains start their year-end sales events.
EBay Korea, the operator of Gmarket and Auction that had “Big Smile Day” from Nov. 1 to Thursday, said its sales soared 40 percent during the promotional event compared with the same period from a year earlier.
About 1.4 billion won (US$1.24 million) worth of Apple Earpods sold out in less than a day, and 730 Dyson’s Supersonic Hairdryers were all purchased, the retailer said.
Ticket Monster, an online marketplace, conducted a “Time Attack” event from Nov. 1 to Thursday with steep discounts on various items.
During the time-specific event held from noon to 6 p.m., Ticket Monster said it enjoyed massive traffic via mobile and PC, about seven times the average daily visitors.
We Make Price, another online marketplace that had “Black Price Day” from Nov. 1 to Thursday, has seen its transactions skyrocket 87 percent from a year earlier, with the number of new subscribers vaulting 187 percent over the period.
The online retailers did not provide exact sales figures during the events.
“The collective promotional events held by several online marketplaces boosted consumer sentiment,” an industry official said. “The hot-deal sales events were well-received by consumers amid bad indicators of the local economy.”
(Yonhap)
