Southern port city helps small businesses sell products through online shopping shows

By Kim Joo-heon Posted : November 8, 2021, 10:48 Updated : June 23, 2023, 01:42

[Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- To help businesses having difficulties in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea's southern port city of Busan has started an online shopping promotion to support small and medium-sized enterprises through online shopping shows. The city aims to attract customers by showcasing high-quality products at discounted prices.

Live commerce services are online home shopping shows that use mobile shopping platforms or social media for live streaming. During the live shopping show, viewers can make inquiries about the product through video chatrooms. Live commerce services are being adopted by department stores and cosmetics companies as demands had increased amid the pandemic. According to data released by Kyobo Securities' research center, the domestic live commerce market, standing at about 2.8 trillion won ($2.3 billion), is estimated to reach 10 trillion won in 2023. 

Busan said in a statement on November 8 that 30 selected companies have started selling their products through Naver Shopping Live, the live commerce service provided by web service giant Naver. Discounts of up to 50 percent will be offered to attract more customers. Live online shopping shows will be broadcast until December 7. "I hope these live commerce shows will help local coronavirus-stricken small and medium-sized companies find a solution for sales. I highly encourage citizens to participate in this event by conveniently accessing from anywhere with their smartphones," Busan official Lee Joon-seung was quoted as saying.

Various sectors in South Korea have accelerated the adoption of live commerce services. Yanoja, South Korea's popular travel and leisure activity reservation service operator, made a foray into the country's live commerce market on November 5 to offer customers differentiated travel-related services by launching a weekly live online shopping show program. 
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