Tourists spent 1 trillion won at Olive Young in 11 months — how shopping changed

CJ Olive Young announced in December 2025 that foreign visitors' purchases from January to November 2025​passed1 trillion won, 26 times the full-year figure for 2022.

Notable figures:

• Foreign customers' share of offline sales rose from 2% in 2022 to over 25%
• About 88% of tax-free cosmetics transactions nationwide happened at Olive Young
• About 40% visited more than one store, and 58% bought from six or more brands
• Growth outside Seoul was even sharper: Jeju, Gwangju, Busan and Gangwon all jumped

It matches what Chinese-language travel guides have been saying for a while: fewer duty-free gift sets, more affordable indie Korean brands, picked up across several stores and cities.

Where do you buy skincare in Korea: duty-free, Olive Young or brand stores?

#OliveYoung #KoreaShopping #KBeauty

Source: CJ Olive Young — Foreign visitor purchases top 1 trillion won