While South Koreans in their 30s and 40s still compose the majority of the luxury market, retailers and luxury brands are eyeing the new trend. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans in their 20s are rising as a new consumer group in pursuit of luxurious goods thanks to the popular ‘flex’ culture.
LOTTE Members, operator of membership reward service L.POINT reported on Thursday that consumption of luxurious goods among the 20s age group rose by more than sevenfold in the last two years, gaining presence as the new consumption tier of the luxury market.
Experts argue that the new trend is driven by the popular flex culture formed among young South Koreans born in the 1990s.
The term flex, defined as to bend or to tighten a muscle, symbolizes the fame and wealth boasted by rappers and hip-hop artists.
While South Koreans in their 30s and 40s still compose the majority of the luxury market, retailers and luxury brands are eyeing the new trend.
Most of these young luxury consumers have been acquiring information on luxury goods via influencers from various social network platforms including YouTube and Instagram (26.7 percent).
They picked offline stores of luxury brands as the preferred route of purchasing a luxury product (12.8 percent).
When buying luxury goods, they first looked at the design (59.2 percent), followed by practicability (32.5 percent) and price (32.3 percent).
Young consumers spending 1.5 million won (US$1,270) or less to buy luxury goods rose by 6.9 percentage points, while those spending 3 million won or less rose by 6.7 percentage points.
Those spending more than 3 million won, however, increased by 3.4 percentage points, showing that young consumers prefer more affordable goods in relative terms.
Most young consumers bought sneakers or running shoes from luxury brands (27.7 percent) thanks to the recent trend among South Korean businesses allowing employees to freely choose their attire for work.
Young consumers also enjoyed shopping at specialist private-label apparel (SPA) brands, well-known for their casual design and affordable price, to pair with luxury brand clothes.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
