Value-for-money Lunar New Year gifts

[Anchor]

Dried yellow corvina is packed individually, and beef is divided by cuts.

Gift-giving customs has changed for this year's Lunar New Year.

It's due to the soaring prices and thinning wallets.

The size of packaged gifts has been reduced and the prices lowered, with so-called value-for-money gifts around 50,000 won becoming popular.

Reporter Jo Eun-ae went out to the field.

[Report]

This year, the particularly expensive pear gift sets are priced around 150,000 won.

Packaged sets of relatively cheaper canned goods also exceed 50,000 won.

Due to the increased grocery prices, department stores have increased small packaging sets by about 20% for this Lunar New Year.

Dried yellow corvina, which used to be packed in sets of ten, is now packaged individually.

Beef gift sets, which were usually packaged to be over 2 kg, have been divided by cuts to significantly reduce their size.

As the size has decreased, the price burden has also been lowered, making them suitable for one- or two-person households.

[Park Mi-ae/Mapo-gu, Seoul: "I prefer items that are packaged individually like this, so they can be stored more easily."]

When asked about their budget for this year's Lunar New Year gift sets, more than half responded that it is 'between 30,000 and 50,000 won.'

Reflecting this trend, large supermarkets have dedicated a section of their gift corner to seaweed gift sets.

The pre-order sales of seasoned seaweed sets under 10,000 won have increased by 65% compared to last year.

As consumers seek value-for-money products, about 40% of the Lunar New Year gift sets offered by supermarkets are under 50,000 won.

[Lee Sang-geum/Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul: "As I mentioned earlier, this is the season for seasoned seaweed, so it's nice to receive it as a gift."]

Convenience stores are also following the trend of 'value-for-money.'

The shelves are filled with gift sets from wine to seaweed that cost less than 10,000 won.

[Kim Yeop-mi/Gangseo-gu, Seoul: "(For wine) I could buy two bottles for the price of one, so it really caught my eye and I ended up buying it."]

By splitting and dividing, the size is reduced, and the prices are lowered, making Lunar New Year gifts lighter for consumers with thinning wallets.

This is KBS News, Jo Eun-ae.