<Anchor> This is a
friendly economic time. Today (29th), I will be with reporter Kim Hye-min. A lot of people these days say that they are different from the older generation, and they say that their consumption patterns are also different.
<Reporter>
That's right. Generation Z has also emerged as a mainstay of consumption. It refers to the generation born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. I have been exposed to smartphones since I was a child. I am also very familiar with online shopping.
When we looked at what Gen Zers consulted most with the Consumer Agency, the total number of consultations was decreasing, but the proportion of consultations related to e-commerce, that is, online shopping, increased significantly.
It was less than 30% in 2011, but it was up to 42% last year. The results of the Consumer Agency's analysis of the social data of Generation Z for three years through a company were also recently released.
If you look at this, there are three major characteristics of Gen Z consumption. First, Generation Z was doing a lot of second-hand transactions using online platforms.
<Anchor>
Reporter Kim, when you say this is an online platform, are you talking about second-hand trading apps?
<Reporter>
That's right. I've been using it a lot lately too, and in particular, Gen Zers are using online platforms to make second-hand transactions. Consumer consultations are also on the rise.
In the community of teenagers and 20s, the number of mentions related to the used trading platform has been increasing rapidly since the third quarter of last year.
I used to use words such as fraud, courier, direct transaction, and account often, because second-hand transactions are mainly made through account transfer, and goods are exchanged through direct transaction or courier service.
Gen Zers have a lot of fear of meeting strangers when it comes to second-hand sales. Also, there have been a lot of posts worrying about whether or not I might be scammed.
<Anchor> It
certainly seems to be doing a lot of second-hand trading these days. However, among second-hand transactions, this seems unfamiliar to the older generation, but they resell limited edition products and do a lot of these things.
<Reporter>
That's right. This is one of those consumptions that I have not tried yet, and there is a word called 'Recell Tech'. This is what it means to “re-sell things like limited edition products to make money.” The mention of this word has increased by 43% in two years.
There is a lot of mention of a specific brand of sneakers, but in the case of limited edition sneakers, if you buy these, you can sell them second-hand at a higher price than you bought them, so the number of Gen Zers who buy products for them has increased.
Recently, even a platform app that resells limited edition sneakers has appeared, and most of the subscribers are said to be Generation Z. However, consumer consultations on this resell-only platform have increased significantly in recent years.
The platform inspects the genuine product, and there have been quite a few consumer complaints about the standards or counterfeit products.
Even if you buy a product after undergoing inspection by the resell platform, do not blindly trust the company's words and keep in mind that there is a possibility of counterfeit products to reduce damage.
<Anchor> That's
right. So, what are the last characteristics of consumption that Generation Z is seeing now?
<Reporter> It
is idol goods, and the number of mentions of idol goods on social
media
has increased significantly recently.
Idol goods were originally a way for fans to purchase idol-related products after the agency produced and sold idol-related products.
However, the trend these days is going one step further and changing the way fans make their own goods and purchase them together. They tend to be fansumers who are active in consumption activities.
However, there are many disputes that arise here. Not long ago, Brave Girls' management company was criticized for selling low-quality and expensive goods.
There are many disputes that arise because fans receive money from their own group purchase and do not deliver products or send poor quality products.
However, since most of the people who purchase goods are too young, there are many cases where they do not receive adequate relief and suffer damage.