Sales of interior goods and furniture are climbing across both online and offline retail channels in South Korea. With property transactions frozen, demand is shifting away from moving and full-scale renovations toward refreshing the look of homes people already live in.
Lotte Department Store said on the 28th that sales in its lifestyle category rose 15% in the January-August period, the strongest growth in three years. Large home appliances and imported furniture drove the gains, rising 35% and 15% respectively. "Appliances and imported furniture are bulky and visible, and with a premium design or a distinctive color they function as a kind of objet," a Lotte Department Store official said. "Replacing just an appliance or a piece of furniture can change the mood of a home immediately, without the burden of major construction work."
The Conran Shop, a lifestyle concept store operated by Lotte Department Store, saw first-half sales rise 50% from a year earlier. The store sells everything from tableware and lighting to premium furniture brands such as Herman Miller and Cassina. "Beyond customers in their 40s and 50s with strong purchasing power, we are now seeing shoppers in their 20s and 30s who are interested in interiors and design," the department store said.
At CJ ONSTYLE, a commerce company, sales of partial renovation products jumped 221% in January-August from the same period a year earlier. Partial renovation products are items that let homeowners change only part of a home rather than the whole property, such as a ceiling fan in the living room or a sink bowl, the basin where dishes are washed in a kitchen.
Sink bowl sales rose 156% over the same period. As demand concentrated on premium products, sales of Artisan, a square sink bowl brand, surged 270% in the June-August period from a year earlier. Ceiling fan sales soared 304% in January-August, while bathroom ventilation fans rose 290%.
Premium living products also sold better. Order volume for CJ ONSTYLE's premium living brands rose about 50% over the same period. "Sales of premium living items such as lighting, trolleys and vases are also on the rise," a CJ ONSTYLE official said. "Rather than redoing an entire home, more customers appear to be looking to elevate a space with a single designer piece of furniture or accessory."
At large discount chains, affordably priced accessories sold well. At E-Mart, sales of decorative items such as small picture frames rose 15% from January through Sept. 20 compared with a year earlier. Sales of drawer units and storage goods for organizing clothing rose 22%, while rugs and carpets gained 15%.
Retailers note that this spending on improving living spaces is emerging alongside a contraction in property transactions. According to the Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza, sales and lease transactions in Seoul totaled 204,753 in January-August, down 13.5% from 236,708 a year earlier. "With uncertainty persisting in the housing market, spending is spreading toward improving the home people currently live in rather than moving, and demand is growing for investment in key items such as sofas and lighting rather than a full interior overhaul," an industry official said.
Companies are expanding related products and brands. Targeting demand for global premium living brands, CJ ONSTYLE introduced the designer furniture brand Magis and the lighting brand Artemide last month and this month through a pop-up store on Seoul's Garosu-gil and mobile promotions. Lotte Department Store held a "Home Styling Fair" at major stores nationwide last month, offering products from 95 brands at discounts of up to 50%.
