The era of 'Homeconomy' changes consumer trends

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The 'Homeconomy' era has arrived. With just a smartphone, you can buy or enjoy anything from the comfort of your bedroom. There's no need to step outside. With a smartphone, your home can become a cinema, a supermarket, or a shopping center.

The term 'Homeconomy' combines 'home' meaning the house and 'economy' indicating economics and saving, representing a trend where most economic activities are consumed at home.

With the recent elevation of social distancing to level 2 in the metropolitan areas by the government, the Homeconomy trend is expected to rise even more.

With just a few taps on a smartphone, homebodies can easily get everything they need for daily life, from ordering a variety of groceries from large supermarkets to having fresh ingredients and food delivered at dawn by startups, all through service apps installed on their smartphones. There's no need to go to the cinema. With smart TVs and other digital devices, or just a smartphone, anywhere you sit can become a theater. You can access various video content like movies, dramas, and documentaries through OTT service apps such as Netflix and YouTube.

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In the era of Homeconomy, most consumption activities, from necessities to leisure, are solved at home.

The Korea Trade Association recently predicted in a report that the domestic service industry trends in the post-COVID era would include digital transformation, the spread of non-face-to-face distribution services, and the emergence of homeconomy services.

Especially with the increase in people spending leisure time at home due to COVID-19, sales of streaming services (movies, music), games, etc., have also increased. The proportion of single households is expected to rise to 32.3% by 2025, and industries such as home care (appliance rental, on-call cleaning) and leisure content (games, internet TV) are expected to be promising as the Homeconomy industry becomes a major consumption trend.

An industry insider in the fashion sector said, “The consumption trend has changed due to COVID-19, and the industrial ecosystem is also changing. Such changes are not a temporary phenomenon but are expected to settle as a global consumption trend,” he said.

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Fashion companies move to target the homewear market

As the Homeconomy trend emerges, fashion companies are also launching homewear products and targeting consumers.

According to a recent analysis of search big data from January to September of this year, affected by COVID-19, by Zigzag, a women's shopping app operated by the fashion tech company Croqui.com, searches related to homewear and athleisure wear have increased up to fourteen times, indicating the continuing trend of comfortable clothing.

With the increase in interest in athleisure wear, which can be worn for exercising at home or hiking, the search volume for 'exercise set' keywords within the Zigzag app from January to September increased more than 14 times (1337%) compared to the same period last year.

During the same period, search volumes for 'training sets' increased by 93%, 'yoga wear' and 'activewear' by 107% and 35% respectively.

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As time spent at home increases, 'homebound fashion' has also gained attention. The keyword with the most significant increase in search volume was 'homewear dress', which saw an 869% increase compared to the previous year. Searches for 'homewear' increased by 127%, 'sleepwear' by 83%, 'pajamas' by 46%, and 'sleeping pajamas' by 40%, showing an increase in interest in comfortable homewear for use at home.

The unisex casual brand 5252 BY O!Oi recently released its 2020 holiday collection.

The first holiday collection from 5252 BY O!Oi reflects the trend of increased time spent at home, offering a line of homewear including pajamas, robes, room slippers, and knit accessories comfortable enough to wear inside the house.

The menswear brand Daks also launched its first 'loungewear' collection this season.

Daks introduced comfortable and luxurious loungewear targeting 'homebodies' who enjoy leisure time at home, actively reflecting the trend of the new normal era where more time is spent at home or nearby. With the launch of this loungewear collection, Daks plans to introduce a wider range of apparel to meet customer demands.

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Daks' new loungewear collection features activity and style, serving as indoor homewear, casual outing clothes, and light workout wear. The collection is designed to meet the needs of its target customers who prefer simple elegance, applying a neat design without unnecessary details and incorporating Daks' heritage house check pattern and classic shield motif embroidery as points throughout the products. Made of a lightweight mixed material of cotton and polyester double-knit jersey, it offers comfort for a variety of everyday movements.

The loungewear collection features refined navy and grey colors that anyone can wear comfortably, comprising a total of eight men's clothing items including a loose silhouette hood jumper, zip-up jumper, sweatshirt, and jersey banded pants. The prices are set in the 150,000 won range for jumpers and 120,000 won for sweatshirts and pants, available through LF's official online shopping mall, LF Mall.

The French modern luxury brand Zadig & Voltaire also recently proposed a homewear collection that can be comfortably and stylishly worn indoors and outdoors, as outings and activities have significantly decreased due to social distancing measures.

Items made of top-quality materials in a stylishly effortless style are very comfortable and stretchy, making activities very convenient. They can be worn easily without second thoughts for short outings or walks, available as cardigans or outerwear, and include cotton shirts and t-shirts bearing the brand's slogan, showcasing a variety of items with French chic sensibilities.

Kakao Commerce's character brand Kakao Friends has collaborated with art crew brand IAB STUDIO to launch the limited edition 'Kakao Friends X IAB STUDIO'.

The theme of this collaboration is 'One Mile Wear', proposing a reflection on our precious everyday surroundings through light outings in situations where long-distance travel is not easy due to COVID-19. The collection comprises a total of eight types of apparel/fashion accessories/mobile phone accessories that fit this theme.

Beanpole also reflected the needs of the new normal trend and the untact era, centering on One Mile Wear, showcasing a lineup of apparel and accessories including hood zip-ups, sweatpants set-ups, t-shirts, caps, and socks.

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In addition, as time spent at home increases, the furniture and home interior market is also growing. This is due to the increasing desire for 'personal interior' that reflects individual tastes and lifestyles.

Total home furnishing brand Laura Ashley Korea is expanding its consumer touchpoints by entering not only major department stores but also large complex shopping malls and premium outlets, in preparation for the expected increase in consumption of home decoration and organizing items as consumers spend more time at home.

Following the new opening of the Starfield Wierye branch in August, the Starfield Anseong branch was additionally opened on October 7. Recently, the first franchise store was opened in Mokpo.

Laura Ashley operates about 40 locations, including direct stores such as Apgujeong branch, Mesena Polis, as well as Shinsegae Department Store Daegu branch, Hyundai Premium Outlet Gimpo branch, Starfield Hanam branch, department stores, complex shopping malls, and premium outlets.

An industry insider stated, “With social distancing becoming normalized due to COVID-19, time spent at home is increasing, and sales related to the Homeconomy centered on mobile are expected to increase further. Growth in various areas such as home cafes, home training, home fashion, and home furnishing is expected,” he said.