Food and beauty have emerged as key growth drivers in South Korea's D2C (Direct to Consumer) market. Cafe24 said on Monday that an analysis of its shopping mall transaction data for the first half of 2026 showed the food and beauty sectors grew 43.8 percent and 38.0 percent, respectively, over the past two years, ranking first and second in transaction value growth by sector.

The two sectors set new record highs in transaction value for five consecutive half-year periods from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2026. Their share of overall transaction value also rose over the same period, with food up 2.7 percentage points and beauty up 1.4 percentage points. As of the first half of 2026, their combined share was 28.3 percent, accounting for more than a quarter of transaction value at Cafe24-based D2C shopping malls.

In beauty, the number of shopping malls with transactions rose 23.6 percent, highlighting inflows of new brands. The expansion of creator brands, fashion brands entering the beauty category and existing beauty brands launching sub-brands led to increases in order counts, up 34.2 percent, and revenue per mall, up 11.7 percent. In food, order counts, up 32.0 percent, and revenue per mall, up 27.8 percent, rose more steeply than the increase in the number of shopping malls, up 12.5 percent. The structure reflects customer loyalty and repeat purchases centred on existing brands, which expanded transaction scale.

Other sectors also posted growth, led by digital and home appliances, up 36.2 percent, fashion accessories, up 34.0 percent, home and health, up 26.5 percent, maternity and infants, up 23.5 percent, and sports and leisure, up 23.4 percent. Fashion apparel, the largest sector among Cafe24 D2C malls, accounted for 26.3 percent of total transaction value, maintaining the foundation of the ecosystem. Total order counts increased 18.5 percent over two years, and the data showed expanding purchase frequency drove market growth more than the rise in average order value, up 1.9 percent.

Lee Jae-seok (이재석), CEO of Cafe24, said the growth in food and beauty is a meaningful change showing the D2C market is expanding from a focus on specific sectors to a focus on a wider range of consumer goods. "Going forward, we will continue to build an environment through the Cafe24 platform in which brands across various sectors can grow sustainably in the D2C market," he said.