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Whenever Kim Mi-sun, 36, who works at a local credit card company, wants to shop, she makes a beeline for foreign websites before she visits the offline stores.
“I purchase almost all commodities, from beauty products to shoes, appliances and even blankets, through these online brand shops,” Kim said.
She is a so-called “jikgu” customer, a Korean term coined from two words meaning “direct purchases.” These shoppers tend to shop directly from the websites operated by the brands they are looking for.
Despite the time lag for delivery and the lack of sufficient refund policies, shoppers like Kim say they prefer making purchases this way mainly due to the cheap prices. “I was able to save shopping costs by more than 40 percent when I bought goods online during the major holiday shopping seasons such as Black Friday in the U.S.,” Kim said.
According to data from the Korea Customs Service, imported goods are sold, in general, at prices around 10 to 40 percent higher here than abroad.
With a growing number of shoppers choosing to make direct purchases, the jikgu market is likely to continue to grow this year, industry watchers said.
“The amount of products directly purchased from the brand websites is likely to set a new record this year, far exceeding $1 billion,” the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Korea, the biggest business association in Korea, said in a report on Wednesday. The KCCI said its estimates were based on data from the KCS.
The KCCI report showed the market size of such borderless shopping to reach $1 billion won here last year for the first time. The figure was almost four times higher than $240 million in 2010.
“Making direct purchases from foreign websites has become a hot global trend, and it is time for Korean retailers to consider developing strategies to attract borderless online shoppers of their own, rather than fretting over the exodus of Korean consumers,” according to the KCCI report.
It added that retailers should target Chinese and Southeast Asian consumers who are looking for bargains on Korean products.
To appeal to such overseas shoppers, the KCCI stressed it is most important to build an advanced delivery system, along with a strong sales network in the target markets.
“Direct buying tends to grow quickly in countries with competitive logistics,” said Lim Soo-jin from Ebates, a gate website to be linked to a variety of U.S. retail brands.
By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)
“I purchase almost all commodities, from beauty products to shoes, appliances and even blankets, through these online brand shops,” Kim said.
She is a so-called “jikgu” customer, a Korean term coined from two words meaning “direct purchases.” These shoppers tend to shop directly from the websites operated by the brands they are looking for.
Despite the time lag for delivery and the lack of sufficient refund policies, shoppers like Kim say they prefer making purchases this way mainly due to the cheap prices. “I was able to save shopping costs by more than 40 percent when I bought goods online during the major holiday shopping seasons such as Black Friday in the U.S.,” Kim said.
According to data from the Korea Customs Service, imported goods are sold, in general, at prices around 10 to 40 percent higher here than abroad.
With a growing number of shoppers choosing to make direct purchases, the jikgu market is likely to continue to grow this year, industry watchers said.
“The amount of products directly purchased from the brand websites is likely to set a new record this year, far exceeding $1 billion,” the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Korea, the biggest business association in Korea, said in a report on Wednesday. The KCCI said its estimates were based on data from the KCS.
The KCCI report showed the market size of such borderless shopping to reach $1 billion won here last year for the first time. The figure was almost four times higher than $240 million in 2010.
“Making direct purchases from foreign websites has become a hot global trend, and it is time for Korean retailers to consider developing strategies to attract borderless online shoppers of their own, rather than fretting over the exodus of Korean consumers,” according to the KCCI report.
It added that retailers should target Chinese and Southeast Asian consumers who are looking for bargains on Korean products.
To appeal to such overseas shoppers, the KCCI stressed it is most important to build an advanced delivery system, along with a strong sales network in the target markets.
“Direct buying tends to grow quickly in countries with competitive logistics,” said Lim Soo-jin from Ebates, a gate website to be linked to a variety of U.S. retail brands.
By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)
