This photo provided by E-Mart Inc. shows models promoting massage chair.
SEOUL, July 14 (Korea Bizwire) — As more people are spending long hours indoors following the coronavirus outbreak, demand for massage chairs, massage guns, and acupressure massagers for home use is on the rise.
E-Mart Inc., South Korea largest discount store chain, reported a 44 percent jump in massage chair sales for the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year.
ETLand, a multimedia retail park in Seoul, also reported a 30 percent jump in massage chair sales.
“There were more offline consumers, despite the coronavirus pandemic, since many of them wanted to try out the chairs before they buy them,” ETLand said.
Other acupressure massagers are also gaining popularity.
Local dollar-shop chain Daiso reported a 40 percent sales increase for acupressure massagers compared to last year.
The popularity of massage equipment was also seen at online shopping portals.
E-commerce platform Gmarket reported a 21 percent sales jump for massage equipment, with massage chairs recording a category-leading 51 percent jump in sales.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
