Seongsu sparks trends, Myeong-dong seals deals: foreign tourists' spending habits shift

Lotte Members announced Monday that it has published the "L.Point Foreign Tourist Spending Trend Research Note," a big data analysis of foreign tourists' consumption patterns.

The company drew on L.Point transaction data from April 2025 through May 2026 to map the spending journeys and preferred product categories of inbound foreign tourists, broken down by number of visits and regions traveled.

According to the research note, foreign tourists' spending journeys now begin on SNS before they even arrive in Korea. That shift has turned Seongsu into an "ignition point" — where new brands are first discovered — while Myeong-dong and department stores have become "conversion points," where validated demand turns into actual purchases. An analysis of brands purchased by foreign customers at Lotte Department Store, ranked by customer count, found that domestic fashion brands popular in Seongsu accounted for 27 percent of the top 15 brands.

Foreign tourists' spending has also evolved into what the report calls "everyday consumption," mirroring the dietary habits of Korean locals. An analysis of foreign customer purchase data at Lotte Mart's Zettaplex Seoul Station branch showed that "Paldo & Yangban Miyeokguk Ramyun," a product Lotte Mart launched exclusively in 2024, ranked first in sales volume. Three products from Lotte Wellfood's Zero lineup — Zero Fruits Jelly, Zero Crunch Choco Ball and Zero Cacao Cake — also made the top five.

By region, Busan has rapidly emerged as a key hub for Taiwanese tourists. Taiwanese visitors accounted for more than half of all foreign customers at Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart locations in Busan. Their purchases skewed heavily toward snacks (81 percent), packaged ramyun (69 percent) and processed seaweed products (61 percent) — all notably higher shares than those recorded among foreign tourists in Seoul.

Lotte Members is accelerating the expansion of its L.Point Global Membership program in line with these shifting trends. The company has improved the user experience of the L.Point Global Membership portal, allowing foreign tourists to sign up and check benefits from their home countries before arriving in Korea. It is also stepping up overseas marketing through partnerships with global companies including Mastercard and UnionPay.

"We will continue to strengthen our foreign customer data through L.Point Global Membership, tracking tourists' spending journeys to support the strategic decision-making of our affiliate partners," a Lotte Members official said.