A woman picks a lipstick at a department store in Seoul on July 1, 2021, amid growth of sales of color cosmetics in anticipation of mask-free days in line with the increase in vaccinations. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Expectations for the normalization of economic activities are growing despite the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and such expectations have lead to an increase in consumption of spring clothes and color cosmetics.
According to Hyundai Department Store, a major department store chain, sales of women’s and men’s fashion items rose by 33.5 percent and 35.2 percent, respectively, during the period from February 1 to 23 compared to a year ago.
In particular, new spring clothes accounted for more than 80 percent of apparel sales.
This rebound reflects the growing expectations that the normalization of social activities will begin if the peak of omicron infections passes sometime during the month of March.
Demand for color cosmetics, jewelry and shoes, which has remained sluggish due to mask wearing and working from home, is also showing signs of improvement
During the same period, sales of color cosmetics jumped by 39.5 percent, more than two times higher than 15.8 percent for basic cosmetics.
This is in stark contrast to a year ago when the sales of basic cosmetics rose by 8.6 percent, three times higher than 2.7 percent for color cosmetics.
“Luxury consumption was strong last year, but there was no recovery in fashion consumption. This indicates that people didn’t buy a lot of clothes,” Shinyoung Securities Co. said in a recent report.
Analysts stressed that with the normalization of economic activities, fashion would be one of the sectors that would enjoy the fastest recovery in consumption.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
