In 2024, Olive Young’s brick-and-mortar stores reported a tourist sales increase of 140% compared to the previous year.
According to the data, the growth was driven by tourists from the Europe.
Sales by Italians, Spanish, and French tourists rose by 250%, 226%, and 184% respectively.
Other fast rising countries included Mexico and Turkey, which increased by 400% and 340% respectively.
Overall, foreign customers of 189 nationalities visited Olive Young stores and made a total of 9.42 million purchases over the past year.
The report also showed that tourists visited about 92% of 1,371 Olive Young stores across Korea as it has become a “must-visit shopping destination”.
This new data suggested to the retailer that the strength of K-beauty is growing globally.
The US remained an important market for Olive Young as American shoppers seek out Korean sun care products.
Out of the top 10 products among US consumers, five out of 10 were sun care products.
The retailer attributed this to the raised awareness of sun protection in the US and the accessibility of K-beauty sun care products.
A growing category among US consumers was beauty devices.
Among Chinese, Taiwanese and South East Asian consumers, mask packs were the most popular item.
Skin care serums was a fast growing category among Chinese and South East Asians, while ampoules were the fastest for Taiwan.
Oral care was the biggest category among Japanese consumers while lip care was the fastest-growing.
Improving experiences
Moving forward, Olive Young aims to improve the shopping experience for tourists.
It plans to expand the services offered in the Myeongdong shopping district to more stores in major tourist destinations like Busan and Jeju Island.
Foreign language support will be enhanced across various touchpoints, including electronic labels, in-store guidance, and payment areas.
It also plans to have dedicated display sections that will highlight promising K-beauty brands tailored to international tourists' preferences.
Additionally, it will offer luggage storage services at select stores with high-volume purchases to make shopping more convenient for shoppers.
Lastly, it aims to install more digital touchpoints that will encourage tourists to sign up for Olive Young Global’s membership programme.
Existing machines have helped the retailer attract about 330,000 new members last year.
“We strive to provide foreign visitors with a positive shopping experience while also serving as a ‘Global K-Beauty Gateway’ by introducing the latest K-beauty brands. We will continue our efforts to establish K-beauty as a key part of Korea’s tourism appeal, alongside K-pop and K-food,” said an Olive Young spokesperson.
