This file photo shows consumers line up in front of the Chanel shop of Lotte Department Store in central Seoul in May 2020 amid rumors of a possible mark-up. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The unabated buying boom for luxury products has led to the emergence of new part-time jobs in which individuals are paid in return for waiting in line for entry to famous foreign luxury brand shops on behalf of customers.
Customers who want to purchase luxury products can hire such part-timers through part-time job apps or agencies.
Once the customers set the desired date and location, part-timers who can meet such conditions show up and wait in line on behalf of them.
The part-timers are paid about 10,000 won (US$8.37) per hour.
“Most of the applicants for this part-time work are in their 20s and 30s,” an agency official said. “Since this part-time work is done mainly at dawn, it’s popular particularly among those who want to carry it out in parallel with job preparation or their main job.”
The background behind the emergence of such part-time jobs is the purchase boom for foreign luxury brand items.
According to data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the combined sales of the nation’s three major department stores rose by 18.3 percent year on year in November last year, with foreign luxury brands accounting for 31.5 percent of their total sales.
The difficulty in buying foreign luxury products also contributed to accelerating the introduction of such part-time jobs. Foreign luxury brands typically limit the daily number of people who can visit their stores.
“When the economy is struggling, it leads to the generation of consumption polarization in which the consumption of both low-priced and high-priced goods increase,” said Lee Young-ae, a consumer studies professor at Incheon National University.
“Since it’s difficult to address economic problems within a short period of time, the business of waiting in line for others could continue as long as the demand for luxury goods is high.”
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
