Over 2,000 pop-ups and counting: Korean department stores become destinations in themselves

South Korea's major department stores are set to host more than 2,000 pop-up stores this year alone, as a distinctive pop-up culture that has become a hallmark of Korean retail continues to captivate foreign tourists alongside domestic shoppers — spurring a steady stream of new experiential concepts.

According to industry sources Friday, Lotte Jamsil Town in Seoul's Songpa-gu — home to Lotte Department Store, Lotte World and Lotte Duty Free — will hold roughly 700 pop-ups this year, on par with last year. The Hyundai Seoul, which draws a high proportion of foreign visitors, plans to run about 600 pop-ups at a similar scale to last year. Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch will operate around 800 pop-ups this year.

The domestic department store industry began doubling down on unconventional pop-up strategies around 2022, when The Hyundai Seoul hosted a pop-up for idol group NewJeans. What started as a way to fill store entrances and idle spaces has since evolved into a format that spans entire floors of flagship locations.

The appeal of the pop-up model lies in its ability to create a "something new every day" shopping environment. Individual pop-ups run anywhere from one week to two, meaning dozens appear and disappear at a single store each month, keeping the shopping experience fresh. The format also generates a strong chain-reaction effect, with pop-up visitors going on to make additional purchases elsewhere in the store.

Pop-ups targeting foreign tourists have also been a consistent draw. A standout example was the BTS pop-up held at The Heritage inside Shinsegae Department Store's main branch from March 20 to April 12, which drew fierce competition among retailers eager to tap the group's global fandom. During the pop-up period, sales at Shinsegae's main branch rose 70.2 percent year on year.

Lotte Department Store ran the "Lotte Town Myeong-dong Festival" from May 15 to May 25, themed around Korean herbal medicine shops and escape rooms, and strategically featured brands with overseas followings such as Imis and Sulwhasoo. Foreign sales at its main branch surged 150 percent year on year during the event. The Hyundai Seoul operated "Live Seoul," a tourist-only pop-up space, from May 8 through June 2. The venue offered personal color and body-type analysis experiences and drew a cumulative 250-plus visitors despite limiting capacity to two people per hour.

Efforts to attract foreign tourists are expected to continue. The won-dollar exchange rate hovering around 1,500 won to the dollar is seen as a tailwind for the domestic department store industry. "Over the medium to long term, the share of foreign sales at Korean department stores could surpass that of their Japanese counterparts," said Lee Jin-hyeop, an analyst at Hanwha Investment.

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https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10770160