Department stores saw their sales skyrocket last week due to a sudden spike in Chinese tourists as they took advantage of their Labor Day holidays to visit Korea. At the same time, revenue from Japanese tourists decreased as the weak yen led more people to cancel their trips.
Sales to foreign customers at Lotte Department Store climbed 49.7 percent on-year from April 27 to Monday. Sales made using China Union Pay, China's largest credit card, grew 143.8 percent, while those from transactions made using Japan’s JCB card fell 23.8 percent.
Hyundai Department Store also reported a similar trend. Its sales to Chinese jumped 139.1 percent over the same period, while purchases made by Japanese tourists dropped 10.3 percent.
Miscellaneous fashion items like handbags were the top sellers among Chinese tourists, followed by women's clothing and cosmetics.
