SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Home interior decorations have become a new gift idea for the holidays, a trend led by Shinsegae, which said Wednesday its sales of decorative goods jumped 89.2 percent over the past week from a year earlier.
The department store chain has opened a special gift section, “home and personal care,” for the Lunar New Year holiday next week, featuring room sprays, diffusers, candle sets and other items for home decor. Lunar New Year is one of the most celebrated holidays in South Korea, during which millions of people go to their hometowns with presents for family and kin.
Exchanged gifts have mostly been food, sometimes including cosmetics or fashion accessories. Shinsegae said the new popularity of interior products reflects changing consumer preferences.
The retailer already succeeded in marketing home interior products for the Chuseok, or harvest moon, holiday in October last year. Sales of the products exceeded the target by 50 percent during the gift sales period from Sept. 15-30.
(Yonhap)