Different strokes: Olive Young sales data reveals UK, US, Japan consumer K-beauty preferences

Analysing the purchases during the Olive Young Global Big Bang Sale, the South Korean retailer reported that US consumers mostly purchased sun care products.

According to the firm, K-beauty sun care products are perceived as being more effective yet gentle by American consumers. Additionally, Korean sunscreens come in a variety of formulation types to meet their diverse needs.

Some of most popular sun protection products among US consumers were Round Lab Birch Moisturising Sun Cream, Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum, and Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics.

For UK consumers, the underlying concern was skin texture.

This was inferred by the top-selling products to the UK, including the viral VT Reedle Shot, which mimics microneedling to enhance skin texture.

Other top products among UK shoppers were Mediheal’s Madecassoside Blemish Pad, BIODANCE Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask, and ANUA Peach 70% Niacin Serum.

Olive Young observed that Japanese consumers have expanded their interest in K-beauty, shopping not just for skin care but personal care items such as oral care, body care and hair care.

There was also demand for supplements, especially for weight loss.

This was reflected in two of the top products among Japanese consumers, which were Foodology Coleology Cutting Jelly 10 Sticks and Viewsen Beauty White Teeth Whitening Patch.

Olive Young Global is the international e-commerce platform of Olive Young which enhances accessibility of K-beauty products to international consumers.

The platform was launched in 2019 and at the end of August, Olive Young Global’s customer count approached two million, almost doubling compared to the same time last year.

Tourist data​

Olive Young also analysed domestic store data to uncover the purchase preferences of foreign tourists.

It noted that there was high demand for new K-beauty brands that were established in the last five years.

This included brands such as Numbuzin, Rejuran, Biodance, Torriden, and Sungboon Editor.

By product, the most popular were Numbuzin No.5 Glutathione C Trace Ampoule, Sungboon Editor Green Tomato Pore Lifting Ampoule, and Torriden DIVE-IN Hyaluronic Acid Serum.

The retailer also highlighted supplements as an emerging category with popular brands such as Lacto-Fit and Foodology.

The popularity of newer brands was in line with Olive Young’s strategy of uncovering new brands that could put them ahead of the industry trends.

“As Korean beauty trends are shared in real time through social media, foreign consumers are also becoming more interested in new brands discovered by Olive Young.”

To cater to foreigners, Olive Young stores are equipped with real-time portable translators that support 16 languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and Vietnamese.

Stores in Seoul’s Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Hongdae, and Gangnam, along with locations in Incheon, Busan, and Jeju, are being specially designated as global tourist districts due to their high proportion of foreign customers.

At these stores, product names and promotional information are provided in English. Additionally, employees are likely to speak a foreign language.

Olive Young emphasised the importance of attracting foreign tourists in Korea, as they are likely to make repeat purchases on Olive Young Global.

“We plan to actively discover and foster promising small and medium-sized brands so that the shopping experiences of tourists visiting Korea can lead to repeat purchases of K-beauty brands through global malls after returning home.”