"신혼여행 못 가는 대신 가구•가전에 더 투자"...코로나로 달라진 소비

With foreign travel off limits and people spending more time at home, many newlyweds are spending their honeymoon budget on more expensive electronics or furniture.
Park Se-young reports.
The couple living in this house are set to get married this fall.
They have spent more on home appliances because they can't go on a honeymoon abroad.
"We spend more time at home so we put more thought into home appliances, furniture, interior design and so on. We ended up spending more than we planned."
In fact, in the first half of 2020 three times as many newlyweds spent at least 25-hundred U.S. dollars on home appliances than in the previous year.
Sales of more than three items has also increased by 65 percent on-year.
Increased interest in home appliances and furniture is not limited to newlyweds.
As everyone is having to spend more time at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak, ...more people are buying new items and changing interior designs.
Interest in robot vacuums and dishwashers is also growing due to the increase in household chores.
Despite the global market slump amid the outbreak, ...South Korea's domestic home appliance market has been booming.
"Some growth can be attributed to the efficient home appliance refund system. The domestic home appliance market also grew as people who were cautious at the start of the pandemic started spending again.
Meanwhile, sales of air purifiers, once deemed essential, have seen a drop in sales following a significant decline in ultrafine dust particles.
Consumer's spending patterns are expected to keep changing as the pandemic goes on.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.