In April this year, retailer sales grew by 4.0% compared to the same month last year, growing both online and offline. It was analyzed that they are enjoying the effect of being lifted from the corona pandemic.
According to ‘Major Distributors Sales Trends in April 2023’ published by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 31st, sales of major distributors in April recorded 14.1 trillion won. This is an increase of 4.8% offline and 3.2% online compared to the same month last year.
Offline sales increased by 4.8% as food (10.4%) and famous foreign brands (4.5%) led sales growth as large-scale discount events were concentrated.
On the other hand, sales of home appliances/culture (Δ0.9%) and children/sports (Δ3.5%) decreased.
If we divide it into offline and online, sales of appliances/home culture (△4.7%) and life/home (△2.4%) decreased offline, but fashion/various goods (2.8%), food (8.5 %), and famous Sales of foreign brands increased (4.5%).
However, online sales continued to rise, with strong sales in food (14.1%) and living/home (3.9%). It is analyzed that this is due to the increase in demand for convenient foods and meal kits as well as various promotional events.
As big discount events and distance were raised, the number of purchases in all offline stores increased year after year. However, the unit purchase price decreased by 1.8% compared to the previous year, including a decrease in department stores (△ 0.3%) due to the effect of inflation.
Compared to the same month last year, the proportion of online sales fell by 0.4% per year. Among offline businesses, the sales share of supermarkets (Δ0.1%p) and department stores (Δ0.2%p) decreased, while the sales share of convenience stores increased (0.8%p).
Looking at sales trends by type of distribution business, for offline companies, large discount stores (3.3%), department stores (2.5%), convenience stores (8.9%), semi-major stores (3.7%), etc. As sales of all types of businesses increased, total offline sales increased by 4.8%.
In supermarkets, sales in the food sector (6.3%) increased significantly due to major discount events, but sales in other items such as homeware/culture (∆4.7%), clothing (∆8.0%), and sundries (∆6.8% increased sales 3.3%.
Department stores saw an increase in sales of food (10.2%), women’s casual wear (6.2%), and famous foreign brands (4.5%) due to the base effect of Omicron and large-scale discount events last year, but home goods sales (△8.4%) and menswear increased (Δ2.2%) showing a downward trend, while overall sales increased by 2.5%.
Convenience store sales increased significantly by 8.9% in all items, including sundries (24.1%), prepared food (22.5%), and home goods (17.8%), due to the continued increase in footfall.
Semi-major stores were slow in daily necessities (△4.6%), but as sales of processed food (7.5%) and fresh/cooked foods (7.1%) increased significantly, food sales were accounting for a high percentage (around 90%) of semi-large stores Total store sales increased by 3.7%.
Sales per store increased in all types of business, including supermarkets (4.7%), department stores (2.5%), convenience stores (0.8%), and medium-sized stores (2.2%).
In terms of the number of stores, convenience stores (8.1%) increased significantly, and supermarkets (Δ1.3%) decreased slightly.
In the case of online retailers, sales of food (14.1%) and cosmetics (11.5%) increased as online platforms were also held during major discount events by retailers, and overall sales increased by 3.2%.
Although online consumption decreased due to an increase in outside activities, sales were slow in fashion/clothing (△5.1%), sports (△8.7%), and children/infant (△4.7%) due to a decline in consumer sentiment.
