Korean market update: March duty-free sales rise +12.48% month-on-month

SOUTH KOREA. Duty-free sales nationwide (excluding inflight retail) in March eased -1.9% year-on-year and rose +12.48% month-on-month to KRW1,082,493,137,737 (US$726.35 million), according to latest Korea Duty Free Association figures.

Customer numbers were up +8.22% year-on-year and +3.78% month-on-month to 2,452,450.

“March sales slightly decreased from the month before, which is probably the impact from the Iran war,” a senior Korean travel retail sector source told The Moodie Davitt Report. “And recently Lotte resumed some daigou business, so foreigner downtown sales picked up from February 2026.”

Sales to foreigners (mainly Chinese) were flat year-on-year (+0.10%) and up +20.80% month-on-month to KRW851,341,458,959 (US$571.25 million). The customer base rose +28.73% year-on-year and +19.57% month-on-month to 1,089,209.

Purchases by Koreans fell -1.2% year-on-year to KRW231,151,678,778 (US$154.96 million), a -10.28% decline month-on-month. Korean customer numbers declined -4.0% year-on-year and -6.13% compared with February 2026 to 1,363,241.

Channel analysis

Downtown duty-free sales fell -6.13% over March 2025 but rose +16.84% month-on-month to KRW803,282,830,570 (US$538.5 million). The year-on-year growth outstripped an +11.0% rise in customer numbers (+1.83% month-on-month). 

Foreigners generated 87.80% of downtown sales on a 51.10% share of total customer numbers.

Drilling down further, sales to foreigners in downtown duty-free stores fell -4.03% year-on-year but increased +22.95% month-on-month) to KRW705,264,424,003 (US$472.80 million).

Airport sales show healthy increase

Sales within the airport departures business (excluding offshore duty free) increased +12.8% year-on-year (+1.31% month-on-month) to KRW234,486,448,389 (US$157.19 million)

Customer numbers reached 1,125,597, a +19.26% year-on-year rise (+4.1% over February 2026). Koreans generated 38.33% of sales on a 46.37% share of customer volume. ✈

How Korean duty-free retailers are placing their bets on fusion of culture, content & commerce to revive the sector “We believe this collaboration reflects the growing convergence of content, culture and commerce – particularly within the global Gen Z audience.” The words of a Shinsegae Duty Free spokesperson to The Moodie Davitt Report when revealing an exciting new fusion between global content sensation KPop Demon Hunters and leading K-beauty brand Anua for a limited-time pop-up neatly sum up the increasing focus of Korean travel retailers in trying to rejuvenate a seriously jaded market. The collaboration marks a unique intersection of K-content and K-beauty, Shinsegae Duty Free said, offering global travellers a differentiated and highly engaging shopping experience. South Korea’s duty-free industry might be facing stiff challenges but its impressive history of innovation and the surging popularity of ‘K-Everything’ – the title of a new, four-part CNN Original Series premiering on 9 May, hosted and executive produced by actor Daniel Dae Kim – augurs well for leading travel retailers’ ability to attract younger international visitors. Such moves represent a necessary but nonetheless impressive reinvention of the business. Korean duty-free might be down but it is far from out.