Daiso expands nail lineup to over 120 products
Price competitiveness draws younger shoppers amid high inflation
Kim Seo-hyeon, a 39-year-old office worker, did some nail shopping at Daiso ahead of the chuseok holiday. She picked up nail tips and cuticle oil for an upcoming trip — 3,000 won and 1,000 won each. "Getting a gel manicure at a nail salon costs at least 40,000 won ($29), but at Daiso it was a tenth of that," she said.
As the uniform-price household goods chain Daiso strengthens its beauty category, its nail product lineup has been growing. The retailer now offers a wide range of items spanning nail care and nutrition to gel nails, nail tips and DIY nail art.
Daiso currently carries more than 120 nail-related stock-keeping units, according to Aseong Daiso. The lineup spans five categories: regular nail polish, gel nails, nail tips and nail stickers, nail art tools, and nail care products and removers.
Daiso's key advantage is price. All products are priced between 500 and 5,000 won — well below market rates. LED gel nail lamps, used to cure gel polish, sell for 1,000 to 3,000 won at Daiso, compared with 20,000 to 30,000 won at regular retailers, with premium models going for 200,000 won or more. Press-on gel nail tips are 3,000 to 5,000 won at Daiso versus 10,000 to 20,000 won elsewhere.
Against a backdrop of persistently high prices, Daiso products have gained attention as an affordable alternative that still delivers the feel of a professional nail salon. Posts recommending Daiso items — with tags like "Daiso self-nail essentials" and "how to do gel nails for under 10,000 won" — consistently appear on social media. One Instagram post showing how to achieve nail extensions using Daiso products surpassed 340,000 views in less than a month.
Strong price competitiveness without a drop in quality means popular products sell out almost as soon as they hit shelves. The Oaao Multi Cuticle Oil Pen, prized for easy hangnail care, and the Almond Clear Nail Tip, a go-to for nail extensions, are both known to sell out the moment they are restocked.
Daiso has been expanding its beauty category beyond nails. Its beauty lineup grew from about 60 brands and 500 products at the end of 2024 to roughly 150 brands and 1,400 products by the end of 2025. In March, the retailer added a dedicated "Beauty & Health" section to its app, offering personalized product recommendations based on users' skin concerns and preferred ingredients. More recently, it opened a beauty-focused store in the Konkuk University commercial district in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.
The push to expand the beauty category is expected to continue for now. Demand for beauty products has been rising not only among younger domestic consumers but also among foreign tourists, driven by the high-inflation environment. Daiso's beauty sales surged 85 percent in 2023, 144 percent in 2024 and more than 70 percent in 2025. Sales from January through August this year were up about 30 percent from the same period a year earlier.
spa@heraldcorp.com
