S. Korean online shoppers spend more money on animal friends

By Park Sae-jin Posted : October 28, 2020, 14:49 Updated : October 29, 2020, 07:44

[Courtesy of Market Kurly]

SEOUL -- South Korean shoppers who have pets spent more money on their animal friends than the amount of money spent on themselves, data released by a popular online shopping mall showed.

According to government data, there are at least 5.9 million households with pets. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs speculated that about 5.9 million dogs and 2.5 million cats live with human families. South Korea's pet product market is expected to reach 3.7 trillion won ($32.7 billion) in 2020.

Market Kurly, an online shopping mall operator famous for its overnight delivery system, said in a statement on October 28 that an average amount of money spent on pet products through a single online transaction stood at about 70,000 won ($61.9) in the first ten months of this year. Shoppers spent 36 percent less when they bought other products.

"We believe that pet owners sought pet products to relieve the stress of pets who were grounded due to the COVID-19 pandemic," a Market Kurly official told Aju News. The most popular pet products were toys, followed by snacks and food. Sales of pet products from March to  October have also increased by 1,097 percent on-year.

Market Kurly made a foray into the online grocery shopping mall market in 2014, garnering attention from busy working mothers and single households who are too busy to go shopping. While Market Kurly offers a variety of fresh food ingredients through an overnight delivery service, meal kits, ready-to-eat or easy-to-cook meal packages were favored by young consumers.

The grocery shopping mall beefed up its customer pool this year when consumers chose to shop groceries through online shopping malls instead of visiting megastores and supermarkets to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

 
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기