SEOUL, July 05 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' monthlong "Gratitude Festival" promotion generated an estimated 2 trillion won, about $1.3 billion, in device sales before the event ended July 5, according to industry estimates, a haul that is expected to lift the company's consumer electronics division in its upcoming second-quarter earnings.
The estimate is based on the value of digital Onnuri gift certificates Samsung issued during the campaign, which industry sources put at approximately 400 billion won ($261.4 million). Onnuri certificates are government-backed vouchers that can be spent only at traditional markets and small local merchants, a mechanism designed to route large-company spending toward small businesses. Since the promotion refunded 20 percent of each purchase in certificates, the total certificate value implies roughly 2 trillion won in underlying sales.
The scale of the rush was visible on the ground. At a mobile phone store near Wangsimni Station in central Seoul that typically sees one or two customers waiting at a time, about 20 people were in line the day before the promotion closed, with five staff members working to process purchases and registrations. "The number of customers usually goes up and down, but this week has been unusually busy," said an employee in his 40s at the store. "It got so crowded when we were taking customers as they came in that we switched to reservations only." Asked what was driving the surge, he said, "I think it is because of the Samsung Gratitude Festival."
Samsung launched the "Gratitude Festival, Together with the People" campaign on June 8 to share the results of its recent performance with consumers, refunding 20 percent of purchase amounts in digital Onnuri certificates on Samsung products bought during the event. The company funded the rebates using profits from its Device Solutions (DS) division, the semiconductor business that has posted strong results in recent quarters, according to industry sources.
Samsung said visits to its Samsung Store retail locations nationwide rose an average of 75 percent compared with the same period last year, with some stores seeing foot traffic double. Traffic to Samsung's own e-commerce site, Samsung.com, climbed more than 200 percent over the same stretch.
Smartphones, washing machines, refrigerators, televisions, and air conditioners were the most popular purchases during the event. The Bespoke AI Steam robot vacuum, a device often bought by newlyweds furnishing a first home, drew particular interest because customers who purchased it through a subscription plan received both the 20 percent certificate rebate and up to twelve months of subsidized subscription fees. Samsung also reported that customers buying multiple appliances together frequently opted into its AI Subscription Club, a financing program that spreads out the upfront cost of large purchases, with new subscription sign-ups tripling compared with the period before the event began.
The sales bump is expected to matter most for Samsung's Device Experience (DX) division, the unit that houses the company's consumer electronics and mobile businesses, because most of the estimated 2 trillion won in transactions took place in June and will be booked in second-quarter results. Within DX, the Digital Appliances and Visual Display (DA and VD) businesses, which rely heavily on domestic sales, stand to benefit most, while the Mobile eXperience (MX) division, whose revenue depends primarily on overseas markets, is likely to see a smaller effect.
The timing comes as Samsung's appliance and television businesses work through a prolonged stretch of weak global demand. The DA and VD businesses posted a combined annual operating loss of roughly 200 billion won, about $130.7 million, last year before returning to profitability in the first quarter of 2026 with operating income of about 200 billion won on revenue of 14.3 trillion won, or roughly $9.35 billion. Market forecasts had placed second-quarter revenue for the businesses at around 14 trillion won, or about $9.15 billion, before the Gratitude Festival figures emerged, and some in the industry now expect the final total to come in above that forecast.
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