Merchandise from K-pop is popular with Chinese
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K-pop merchandise is selling well on e-commerce platform 11st’s global website, boosted by fans from the greater China region, which account for 43 percent of the products’ sales.
According to figures for the first five months of the year, 43.2 percent of customers for K-pop merchandise online are from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
A large part of that demand – 30.7 percent – came from Taiwan, which was the No. 1 destination for goods bought on 11st. Japan was second place (10.8 percent), followed by the United States (10.6 percent), China (6.6 percent) and Hong Kong (6.2 percent).
“Until last year, cosmetics and beauty products were the majority of items bought by foreign customers on our website,” said a spokeswoman for 11st. “But recently revenue from idol-related products, apart from CDs, has started to account for a significant proportion of our sales.”
The company just started this year to launch promotion and marketing events to sell K-pop merchandise in partnerships with domestic entertainment companies.
11st sold K-pop merchandise to 60 countries worldwide that included South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Taiwanese customers had a big preference for merchandise featuring Super Junior, SHINee, TVXQ, Blackpink, iKON and GOT7, while Japanese were keen on merchandise related to Eun Ji-won, a member of Korea’s first-generation idol group SechsKies.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which specific areas contributed most to K-pop merchandise sales on 11st?
Which specific areas contributed most to K-pop merchandise sales on 11st?
Taiwan accounted for 30.7 percent of sales from the greater China region, making it the top destination. Japan was the second-highest market at 10.8 percent, followed by the United States with 10.6 percent of sales.
Q.How has the primary category of items bought by foreign customers on 11st changed recently?
How has the primary category of items bought by foreign customers on 11st changed recently?
Until last year, cosmetics and beauty products formed the majority of items purchased by foreign customers. More recently, however, revenue from idol-related merchandise, excluding CDs, has grown to represent a significant part of the sales.
Q.Which K-pop groups or artists are most popular among Taiwanese and Japanese customers?
Which K-pop groups or artists are most popular among Taiwanese and Japanese customers?
Taiwanese customers particularly favoured merchandise from Super Junior, SHINee, TVXQ, Blackpink, iKON, and GOT7. Japanese customers showed a strong preference for items related to Eun Ji-won from the idol group SechsKies.
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