Chuseok shoppers ditch bulk buys for small packs, family meals over ritual tables

Chuseok grocery shopping is shifting away from buying large quantities all at once for ancestral rite tables toward more practical, needs-based purchasing. Shoppers are increasingly choosing small-packaged fruit over boxes bought in bulk, concentrating holiday gifts on immediate family, and turning to online and mobile shopping more than ever.

The Rural Development Administration said the findings came from an online survey of 1,000 consumer panel members in the Greater Seoul area conducted Aug. 21-22.

According to the survey, 58.3 percent of consumers said they spread their food purchases before and after chuseok rather than buying everything at once just ahead of the holiday. Those who said their spending a week before chuseok had decreased compared with the past accounted for 38.5 percent. That was 9.9 percentage points higher than the 28.6 percent who said their spending had increased.

More consumers are also buying food as needed after the holiday rather than stocking up beforehand. Among those whose purchases increased after chuseok, 41.2 percent said they buy the food they need in smaller batches after the holiday rather than all at once.

The preference for buying only what one needs, rather than bulk quantities, has also grown stronger. Small-packaged fresh fruit topped the list of items consumers plan to buy more of, at 49.5 percent, followed by small-packaged livestock products at 33.3 percent and washed and trimmed vegetables at 23.2 percent.

By contrast, 62.0 percent of respondents said they plan to cut back on buying large boxes of fruit. When it comes to holiday grocery shopping in general, 62.3 percent said they prefer practical, mid-sized packaged products — the largest share of any response.

Practicality and convenience have also overtaken size and appearance as key purchasing criteria. Asked what they value most, 45.9 percent of respondents cited taste and practicality, the top response, followed by time and quality of life at 39.4 percent. Together, the two responses accounted for 85.3 percent. For holiday fruit and other farm produce, 75.4 percent of consumers said they see value in buying practical products that are easy to consume in one sitting.

Online and mobile shopping has also grown sharply. The share of chuseok gifts purchased online has more than quadrupled, from 9.0 percent a decade ago to 37.4 percent recently. The online share of holiday food shopping climbed from 2.0 percent to 21.0 percent over the same period. Consumers cited delivery convenience as the biggest reason for shopping online.

Gift-giving has also become more concentrated on close family rather than spread across many recipients. About 47.3 percent of respondents said they focus holiday gifts mainly on immediate family. Preferred items included fresh or mixed fruit gift sets, at 31.3 percent, and health supplements, at 26.6 percent. Asked why they concentrate gifts on family, 46.9 percent — the most common response — said that spending on family matters more than exchanging formal courtesy gifts.

The Rural Development Administration said the shift means agricultural businesses need to move away from bulk-oriented holiday products. They should strengthen small-package standards and quality-preservation technology suited to online and parcel delivery sales.

"To let consumers buy conveniently in the amounts they need, producers should consider developing farm products with improved small packaging, online distribution and ease of consumption, and build shipment strategies around them," said Wi Tae-seok, director of the Agricultural Management Innovation Division at the Rural Development Administration.