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With temperatures dropping suddenly, consumers who have yet to prepare winter clothing are turning to nearby convenience stores and Daiso instead of apparel shops or online malls.
After Heavy Rain, Morning Lows of 4 Degrees — Even Padded Jackets at Convenience Stores
Convenience store chains are expanding sales of winter clothing and cold-weather goods in response to the recent sharp swing in temperatures, according to the retail industry on the 20th.
Heavy rain fell on Seoul over the weekend, and morning lows are forecast to drop to 4 degrees Celsius on the 22nd. In response, convenience stores are broadening their lineups beyond socks and underwear to include winter outerwear.
CU has been rolling out 19 cold-weather clothing items since early this month, including thermal socks, stockings, earmuffs and touchscreen gloves.
Three outerwear items — a fleece jacket, a windbreaker and a lightweight padded jacket — will be unveiled on the 22nd. All come in black in two sizes, 100 and 105, priced at 22,900 won, 27,900 won and 39,900 won, respectively.
Emart24 also introduced a 34,900-won lightweight padded jacket for the first time this year. After starting sales of seven tights and leggings items on the 18th of last month, it plans to add gloves, earmuffs and thermal underwear to expand its winter clothing and accessories lineup to 20 items in total. The launch dates for some products were moved up by about a month from last year.
Sales of cold-weather goods jumped as temperatures actually fell. CU's hot pack sales from the 1st to the 7th of this month rose 400.3% from the same period a week earlier. Stockings climbed 74.8%, hot americano 59.2%, instant fish cakes 69.8% and roasted sweet potatoes 56.1%.
Over the same period, GS25's sales of hot packs and hand warmers surged 1,033.7% and tights 1,072.7%. Hot pack sales at 7-Eleven and Emart24 rose 1,490% and 325%, respectively.
"I Go to Daiso for 5,000-Won Knits and Fleece" — Clothing Sales Double
Daiso, a household goods chain, is also widening its reach in the clothing market on the strength of low prices.
Daiso recently launched long-sleeve knitwear for the first time for the fall and winter season. It expanded its windbreaker lineup to about 40 items by adding new colors, and also sells fleece, anoraks and jogger pants.
The online Daiso Mall has put winter clothing front and center. As of the 20th, some fleece zip-up products carried a label showing more than 1,200 daily viewers, and some thermal underwear items were sold out.
The expansion in clothing sales is also showing up in results. Daiso's clothing sales for January through September this year rose about 100% from a year earlier. Its clothing lineup grew more than fourfold, from about 270 items at the end of 2023 to about 1,200 items at the end of last month.
Daiso, which once focused on basic items such as socks and T-shirts, moved into sportswear and homewear in 2022. It later added padded vests, fleece and seasonal functional clothing, and began handling everyday wear.
Prices top out at 5,000 won, including knitwear and windbreakers. Daiso sources products from apparel makers such as Try, Lecaf and Basic House, and keeps prices low through direct purchasing and savings on packaging and advertising costs.
As convenience stores and Daiso expand clothing sales, consumers have more options to buy what they need for sudden weather changes at a nearby store. Still, the recent surge in cold-weather goods sales owes much to a temporary drop in temperatures, so whether this spending translates into sustained clothing purchases remains to be seen.
