SEOUL, Apr. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — On April 1, plastic bags were banned from use in all department stores, malls, and shopping centers following the introduction of new legislation that will result in fines up to 3 million won if stores make use of plastic bags. While the legislation seems to be effective when it [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans’ complaints about cross-border transactions spiked more than 40 percent in 2018 due to brisk overseas travel and direct purchases from foreign countries, a state consumer protection agency said Friday. The number of complaints about overseas direct purchases and foreign travel services came to 22,169 cases last year, [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai, Kia, and Renault Samsung are scrambling to compete in the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) vehicle market that has recently been made available to ordinary consumers. Hyundai Motor Co., in particular, decided to release an LPG model of the all-new Sonata. The company, however, decided against selling the new [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean consumers’ direct purchases of electronics and IT products through overseas online shopping malls came to a record-high level in 2018, data showed Sunday. According to the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation, South Korean consumers purchased 442.1 billion won (US$389 million) worth of home [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Shinsegae Group, the operator of South Korea’s biggest discount store chain Emart, said Monday that it will integrate its online shopping mall operations into SSG.COM from next month to boost sales. The retail conglomerate will launch SSG.COM, an integrated company of two online shopping stores — the Shinsegae mall [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s direct purchases from foreign countries rose 31 percent in 2018 from a year earlier on rising consumer demand for cheaper and higher quality products, customs data showed Monday. South Korean shoppers bought a total of US$2.75 billion worth of foreign goods directly via overseas Internet shopping malls [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — E-coupons for dining are selling like hot cakes as the end of the year approaches. The increased sales seem to be reflecting the lifestyle changes of many South Korean workers. With employees now limited to 52 hours of work per week, the number of work-related drinking get togethers has [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of male customers have been shopping online ever since the 52-hour workweek was implemented earlier this year. GS Fresh, a South Korean online shopping mall operated by GS Retail Co., said that male customers who signed up for new accounts in the second half of this [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Some brand-name shoes were more expensive when ordered abroad compared to local retailers, while most South Koreans still think it’s cheaper to buy foreign products overseas than in South Korea. The Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) said on December 13 that 11 of 18 foreign brand shoes were cheaper in [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of online shoppers went up visibly after 6 p.m. this year, data from a leading retailer showed Friday, a phenomenon industry watchers tied to shorter work hours. Hourly sales figures from Shinsegae Department Store from January to November this year showed a 30.3 percent increase from 6-6:59 [...]