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People are forced to tighten their belts even more as heating bills are almost afraid to open, and public transportation fares are rising one after another.

More and more people are looking for things that can save a little more money these days.



Reporter Jae Hee-won covered the story.



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This used clothing store in Gangseo-gu, Seoul has been selling clothes by weight since last year.



The price per kg is 25,000 won.



The main customers are teenagers and 20-somethings with light pockets.



[Jeong Ji-ah/Yongsan-gu, Seoul: I'm a student, so I'm looking for a cheaper place because I don't have money...

.

To buy new clothes, I had to save up a few months of pocket money to buy one.] I was



worried about a decrease in sales during the recession, but recently the number of customers has doubled.



[Jeon Jeong-hee/Operating a second-hand clothing store: As more and more people feel burdened with bonded clothes, many people find used clothing.

Even if you choose one, you seem to be careful.] In



order to save even 100 won on transportation expenses, I use a smartphone pedometer app,



[Kang Se-hee/University student: I don't travel around a lot, so (transportation expenses) 40,000 to 50,000 won per month. I always came out of the line, but about 60,000 to 70,000 won had already come out.

(The price of rice) is expensive, so I keep packing lunches.]



An increasing number of consumers are reselling unused gifticons as second-hand.



[Kim Chae-yeon/University student: If you eat rice and coffee, there are many times when you really go over 10,000 won.

So I thought, 'Let's save money on coffee'...

.]



Due to the increase in single-person households, small-volume and sub-division sales have been the trend at supermarkets, but recently sales of cheaper large-volume products such as lump meat and 1+1 products have surged.



Low-priced, ugly fruit sold nearly 60% more this year.



[Lee Eun-hee/Professor of Consumer Studies, Inha University: (Low-income people) feel a lot of threat to the survival and continuation of the household.

With the obsessive notion that there is no choice but to substantially reduce (consumption)...

.]



A typical recession-type consumption is spreading, in which non-essential consumption is reduced as much as possible, and spending is focused on quantity and low cost-effectiveness.



(Video coverage: Yoon Hyung, video editing: Jeon Min-gyu, VJ: Kim Sang-hyuk



)

'Boomerang' next year


▶ Trade deficit 'continued'...

Concern over domestic demand due to decline in consumption