As South Korea’s biggest national holiday, Lunar New Year, fast approaches, retail stores are busy piling up gift sets. But a recent survey showed that there is a wide gap in prices, with some stores charging twice as much for the same product.


The Korea Consumer Agency released its research on Wednesday comparing price ranges on 20 popular gift sets among 36 retailers including department stores, large supermarkets and online shopping malls across the nation.

The country’s consumer watchdog agency conducted the survey from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4 on gift sets consisting of processed foods, hair and beauty products, and alcohol.

The prices of gift packages at the three types of stores differed by as much as 21 percent, and by 5 percent on average.

Significant price variation was found when e-commerce markets, or so-called “open markets” such as 11st, Gmarket and Auction, were added to the data, reaching an average 42 percent price gap.

Department stores sell the shampoo set “Amore Ryoe Gift No. 2” by cosmetic brand Amore Pacific for 39,900 won ($36), while open markets price the same product at 19,500 won ($18).

According to the report, some retailers misled customers by placing tags with discounted prices that could only be applied to those who own specific credit cards.

KCA urged consumers to compare prices before they purchase goods as there are many ways to get discounts including coupons, vouchers and special deals for credit card users.

The Lunar New Year holiday is Feb. 8-11 this year.



By Park Han-na 
(hnpark@heraldcorp.com)





<관련 한글 기사>

"설날 세트 두 배나 비싸게 사다니.."
  
설 세트상품이 판매점별로 최고 100%나 차이가 나는 것으로 나타났다.

6일 한국소비자원이 20개 명절세트 상품의 36개 판매점 가격을 비교해보니 '려 기프트 2호(아모레 퍼시픽)'는 오픈 마켓에서 최저 1만9천500원, 대형마트와 백화점 에서 3만9천900원에 판매돼 배 가량 차이를 보였다.

백화점, 대형마트 등 오프라인 매장 간 설 세트상품 가격 차는 평균 5%, 최대 2 1%였다.

 '11번가', 'G마켓' 등 오픈 마켓을 포함하면 전체 설 세트상품 가격 차는 평균 42%에 달했다.

 일부 판매점에서는 특정 신용카드에만 적용되는 카드 할인 가격을 정상 판매 가 격과 병행 표기하거나 크게 부각함으로써 소비자들에게 가격 혼돈을 주고 있었다.

소비자원은 판매점별로 신용카드 할인, 쿠폰 할인, 구매 금액대 별 상품권 지급 등 다양한 할인 수단이 공존해 소비자의 현명한 선택이 요구된다고 권고했다.