More people are buying clothes online after trying them on at home rather than at offline stores due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. (image: Lotte Department Store)
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – In the wake of the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak, a growing number of people are buying clothes online.
On the other hand, the cosmetics industry, which has suspended face-to-face services such as makeup demonstrations, is suffering from a sharp drop in sales.
An online mall Handsome.com run by fashion brand Handsome, a subsidiary of the Hyundai Department Store Group, saw its sales soar 54 percent on-year in the month until Sunday, when the COVID-19 spread began.
During the same period, the application “At Home,” Handsome’s home fitting service, saw a sales increase of 35 percent.
At Home is a service that allows users to choose up to three garments from Handsome.com and gives them 48 hours to decide whether or not to keep them, with free returns offered for clothing that doesn’t make the cut.
This means that more people are buying clothes online after trying them on at home rather than at offline stores due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
“People have stopped visiting offline stores such as department stores due to concerns about coronavirus, and are buying clothes online,” a source in the fashion industry said.
“The reason is because one can buy food at stores near one’s house, but not clothes.”
On the other hand, the cosmetics industry, which has suspended all face-to-face contact and hands-on service including makeup demonstrations due to coronavirus concerns continues to struggle.
Offline sales account for a large part of the industry, but as the number of customers visiting stores in person has decreased significantly since the coronavirus crisis began, sales took a nosedive.
There was no clear increase in online or door-to-door sales, so sales at major cosmetics companies reportedly dropped at least 30 percent in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
However, as wearing masks has become more common, videos such as “Mask Makeup Without Makeup Smearing” and “Mask Makeup Good Tips” are gaining huge popularity on YouTube.
“With the spread of coronavirus, demand for cosmetics is not expected to increase significantly as telecommuting increases,” a source in the cosmetics industry said.
“But there are often customers who are concerned about skin care because they have to wear masks all the time.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
