Shinsegae Department Store has reported its highest-ever foreign sales for the first half of the year. If this trend continues, annual foreign sales are expected to exceed 1 trillion won for the first time.
On July 13, Shinsegae announced that its foreign sales for the first half of 2026 reached 580 billion won, a 120% increase compared to the same period last year. This marks the highest performance for any first half.
Considering that last year's total foreign sales were approximately 650 billion won, the store has already achieved about 90% of last year's total in just the first half. The company anticipates that it could surpass 1 trillion won in annual foreign sales for the first time.
Shinsegae attributed the increase in foreign customers to its strategy of combining K-culture with shopping. The competitiveness of luxury brands, along with the expansion of K-pop content and global payment services, has established the store as a must-visit shopping destination for tourists in Korea.
The composition of foreign customers is also changing. The previous focus on Chinese tourists is shifting, with an increasing number of visitors from the United States, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan.
In 2019, Chinese customers accounted for 77.5% of foreign sales, but that figure has dropped to 48.5% in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, the share of American customers has risen from 1.1% to 19.1%, and other Asian countries have increased from 4.4% to 14.9%.
The range of products purchased has expanded beyond luxury goods to include K-fashion, K-beauty, and food and beverage (F&B) items. In the first half of the year, foreign sales of luxury goods increased by 129.3%. Other categories also showed growth, including men's fashion (110.0%), women's fashion (89.4%), cosmetics (87.3%), and F&B (62.9%).
Currently, over 300,000 members from more than 120 countries have signed up for Shinsegae's foreigner-exclusive membership program. The store is enhancing customer satisfaction through shopping discounts, benefits, and convenience services, while also steadily increasing repeat visits through data-driven personalized marketing.
Differentiation strategies at individual stores are also contributing to the growth of foreign sales. The flagship store has strengthened its K-pop content in connection with the Myeongdong tourist area, establishing itself as a tourist attraction.
Shinsegae Square features K-pop content from BTS and Boynextdoor, operating as a complex space that combines shopping and tourism. Currently, one in three visitors to the flagship store is a foreign tourist.
The Gangnam branch is being developed into a global shopping hub by linking it with the Han River tourism infrastructure and food content. It has grown into a representative store attracting tourists from over 120 countries, showcasing unique culinary experiences at the House of Shinsegae Food Hall and Sweet Park.
The Centum City branch is also experiencing rapid growth in foreign demand, driven by an increase in cruise tourists at Busan Port. In the first half of this year, foreign sales surged by 230%, marking the highest growth rate among the representative stores.
In the second half of the year, Shinsegae plans to expand collaborations with the Korea Tourism Organization, Seoul Tourism Foundation, and the Korea Visit Year Committee, while strengthening tourism marketing targeting new markets in North America, Europe, and Taiwan.
Additionally, the company aims to actively attract foreign customers through expanded collaborations with global payment platforms such as UnionPay, Alipay, Line Pay, and JCB, along with country-specific promotions.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea surpassed 10 million for the first time in the first half of this year, a month earlier than last year. During the same period, Incheon International Airport reported a 6.3% increase in passenger traffic, totaling 38,639,522.
Park Joo-hyung, CEO of Shinsegae, stated, "We will continue to uphold our status as a K-shopping landmark through differentiated store competitiveness and overwhelming brand differentiation at our flagship store in Myeongdong, the Gangnam branch, and Centum City in Busan."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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