Lotte Mart.
(Image courtesy of Lotte Mart)
SEOUL, June 24 (Korea Bizwire) – As inflation continues to weigh heavily on South Korean households, major retailers are adopting a “reverse pricing” strategy—setting a target sale price first and working backward to meet it—reshaping how goods are planned, priced, and sold.
Rather than determining prices based on production costs and margins, companies like E-Mart, Lotte Mart, and CU are beginning with prices they believe customers will accept and adjusting costs and profits accordingly. The approach is gaining traction as consumers grow increasingly price-sensitive amid soaring living costs under the administration of President Lee Jae-myung.
E-Mart recently introduced a 5,980-won ($4.30) whisky, “Just for Highball,” aiming to match the price point of soju at local restaurants. Bottled in PET rather than glass to cut costs, the whisky can produce eight highball servings—each under 800 won.
In the cosmetics aisle, E-Mart’s collaboration with LG Household & Health Care produced a line of skincare products, “Glow:up by Beyond,” all priced at 4,950 won. Streamlined packaging and AI-driven marketing helped maintain quality while slashing overhead. The product has sold over 32,000 units since its April debut, doubling skincare sales from the same period last year.
E-Mart’s private label, No Brand, also drew attention with its first-ever sneakers priced at 29,980 won, emphasizing breathable materials and simplified design to stay under a 30,000-won consumer threshold.
Lotte Mart is also leveraging reverse pricing in food staples. It introduced 1,000-won packs of tofu and bean sprouts in April by locking in bulk purchase deals with suppliers to maintain profitability. These items now rank among the top five best-sellers in their categories.
Price-First Strategy Gains Traction Amid Inflation Woes in South Korea (Image supported by ChatGPT)
The chain’s “World Buffet” deli line offers over 40 international-style dishes priced at either 3,000 or 4,000 won. Lotte cut costs through bulk ingredient purchases and outsourcing prep work to lower-cost vendors, converting some items into heat-and-serve options. The initiative has driven significant cross-category sales, according to the company.
E-Land’s Kim’s Club pioneered the model with its “Deli by Ashley” line. The line’s 180 items—priced uniformly at 3,990 won and inspired by the Ashley Queens buffet—have surpassed five million units sold within a year, recently hitting a daily sales average of 25,000. The company says it has driven store traffic up by over 20%.
Convenience stores are also joining the trend. CU offers 880-won instant beef soup and 990-won snacks and produce. It recently added a 10-pack of capsule coffee priced at 2,900 won. CU said it minimizes marketing and profit margins to remove “price padding” and plans to expand its ultra-low-cost food offerings.
As retail margins tighten and consumer caution rises, reverse pricing is emerging not only as a survival strategy—but as a model for gaining trust and volume in Korea’s value-driven economy.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
