SOUTH KOREA. Duty-free sales nationwide (excluding inflight retail) in April fell -5.5% year-on-year (+3.4% month-on-month) to KRW1,119,172,975,475 (US$733 million), according to latest Korea Duty Free Association figures.
The decline came despite customer numbers being up +5.7% year-on-year and +4.8% month-on-month to 2,569,195.
A deeper dive into the results reveals a tale of two channels with airport departures duty-free sales (excluding off-shore duty free) up +10.5% year-on-year but downtown revenues off by -9.5%.
Sales to Koreans were down across both channels, likely driven by Korean duty-free retailers pricing in US Dollars instead of the very weak Korean Won (see below for more details).
Sales to foreigners (mainly Chinese) declined -6.2% year-on-year (+3.3% over March 2026) to KRW879,462,255,434 (US$576 million). The customer base surged +23.9% year-on-year and +9.6% month-on-month to 1,193,862.
However, the key downtown channel (scroll down for more details) saw a sharp -10.5% year-on-year fall in foreigner spending.
That represents a sharp contrast with the performance of leading Korean department stores in key tourist-driven locations. The table below reveals startling growth across the big three of Shinsegae, Lotte and Hyundai, very much driven by soaring tourist spending.
{Click on the YouTube icon to view Maeil Broadcasting Network News’ recent report on the remarkable surge in tourist shopping at Korean department stores, as opposed to duty-free shops. The soundbites below from the programme reflect a key dynamic within the country’s retail ecosystem.}
Korean duty-free purchasing softens
Total sales to Koreans reached KRW239,710,720,041 (almost US$157 million), a near -3.0% easing year-on-year and a +3.7% rise over March 2026. Customer numbers were down -6.2% compared with April 2025 and up +0.9% month-on-month.
Downtown and downwards
Sales by channel were indicative of market trends. Downtown duty-free sales dropped -9.5% year-on-year (+3.5% month-on-month) to KRW831,153,101,540 (US$544.4 million) despite a +26.4% year-on-year boost (+26.5% over March 2026) in the customer base to 1,164,252.
Foreign shoppers represented a whopping 86.8% of sales on a 44.5% share of the customer base.
However, sales to foreigners fell -10.7% year-on-year (+2.3% month-on-month) to KRW721,688,373,130 (US$472.7 million).
Sharp rise in foreigner transactions boosts airport sales; Korean numbers soft
Sales within the airport departures business (excluding offshore duty-free) rose +10.5% year-on-year (+3.9% month-on-month) to KRW243,736,464,566 (US$159.6 million).
Airport customer numbers, driven by a spike in foreign shoppers, were up +6.6% year-on-year (+3.4% month-on-month) to 1,164,252. Foreign shoppers generated 64% of sales on a 56.1% share of customer numbers.
Airport departures sales to foreigners increased +21.7% year-on-year (+7.9% month-on-month) to KRW156,013,559,348 (US$102.2 million). Customer numbers surged +20.6% year-on-year (+8.1% month-on-month) to 652,803.
Conversely, sales to Korean shoppers fell -5.0% year-on-year (-2.4% over March 2026) to KRW87,722,905,218 (US$57,452,783) on a customer base down -7.1% year-on-year (-2.0% month-on-month). ✈
