As next month's Children's Day and the Golden Week holiday approach, the retail industry is launching a powerful marketing offensive. Collaborations with popular character IPs are becoming active to target the children's demographic, while various discount events are simultaneously underway to attract foreign tourists. These moves are interpreted as strategic choices to open consumers' wallets, coinciding with May as the month of family.
First, in the area around Lotte World Tower in Seoul's Jamshedpur, a large-scale event is being planned in collaboration with Walt Disney Company Korea. A special event named 'Star Wars Day 2026 in Jamshedpur' will be held from the 1st to the 17th, and it is expected to be utilized for promotion of 'Mandalorian' and 'Grogu' movies scheduled for release on the 27th. Programs to celebrate May 4th, Star Wars Day, and Children's Day, celebrated by fans worldwide, are also included. Large-scale character parades are scheduled to take place around the tower, outdoor plazas, and Han River Park on the 4th and 5th, and interactive game programs such as spaceship piloting simulations and reconnaissance missions will also be operated.
Large supermarkets are also preparing special shopping experiences for children and families. E-Mart will sell over 200 related items at special prices until May 5th, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon IP. The toy category, including figures and board games, will offer discounts of up to 30%, and uniform-priced items will be launched to meet demand for low-cost toys. Sanrio character blocks and mini car sets are sold at affordable prices of 2,000 won and 3,000 won, respectively.
The Hyundai Department Store Group is also showcasing various content for children. The Mya store will hold a special exhibition featuring over 1,000 large and regular-sized figures and director Kim Cheong-gi's landscape paintings to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Taekwon-V. At the Kintex store, a pop-up store featuring ChitaBu, a global IP for children, will be opened, offering experiential play and DIY programs, and the Premium Outlet Spacewon will showcase an interactive exhibition garden sculpture to attract customers.
In addition, department stores and duty-free shops are focusing on attracting foreign tourists. They will concentrate on the first week of May, which coincides with Japan's Golden Week and China's Labor Day holiday, and will proceed with an immediate 10% discount event for Chinese customers when paying with UnionPay at Myeongdong and Jamshedpur stores. In the beauty category, benefits are strengthened by providing gift certificates based on purchase amounts for the top 10 brands with high preference, such as Sulwhasoo. Shinsegae Duty Free will operate a Line Pay 10% points accumulation event for Taiwanese tourists until the 24th.
Actual data also confirms the importance of May. Domestic department stores recorded strong performance in the first quarter due to foreign tourism and strong sales of luxury goods, and the foreign sales of major companies such as Lotte Department Store, Shinsegae Department Store, and The Hyundai Seoul increased sharply from 80% to 121% year-on-year. An industry official stated that the continued increase in foreign visitors to Korea is driving overall sales, and that the wallets of domestic consumers can also be opened in May, and plans to devote all efforts to marketing.