EXPANDING BOYCOTTS OF JAPANESE PRODUCTS

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Korean consumers' campaign to boycott Japanese products has been continuing for more than a month. The boycott is now expanding to the categories of baby goods and hobby supplies, which users rarely switch once they have chosen. This boycott of Japanese products is also affecting online shopping trends. Here's more.

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A UNIQLO store in Myeong-dong, Seoul It's hard to find customers, except foreign tourists.

[Soundbite] KIM JOO-WON(GYEONGGI-DO RESIDENT) : "I avoid using Japanese products to help the boycott campaign."

And now, the boycott campaign is spreading to baby products. In the case of this online shopping mall, sales of a popular Japanese diaper brand plunged 48 percent on-year over the past month. On other shopping malls, sales of Japanese diapers dipped 15 percent compared to last year. In contrast, sales of a replacement diaper brand introduced by a website promoting the boycott surged a whopping 73 percent. For baby goods such as diapers and formula milk, users rarely switch to other brands. But an increasing number of parents are looking for replacements of Japanese products amid the mounting row between Seoul and Tokyo. Online sales and interest in Japanese game consoles and golf equipment have also dwindled. On one online shopping mall, sales of a famous Japanese game consol have shrunk 60 percent, compared to last year. Online searches for a popular Japanese sports brand decreased 34 percent, while sales of a renowned Japanese golf equipment brand have dropped by over ten percent. Searches for other popular Japanese products, such as jelly, hand sanitizer and men's cosmetics, have also nearly halved.

[Soundbite] JANG HO-JIN(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "Before the boycott campaign, I didn't know that my favorite cosmetics and mechanical pencils were from Japan. I don't feel like ever using them again."

One of the hottest selling online items these days in Korea, are clothing and stickers inscribed with the phrase "No Japan" with the boycott movement garnering greater consumer attention.