Whisky Overtakes Domestic Beer at South Korea’s E-Mart

Whisky has overtaken domestic beer to become the top-selling alcohol category by revenue at South Korean retail giant E-Mart for the first time, marking a significant shift in the country’s supermarket sales landscape.

Whisky accounted for 24.2% of alcohol sales across E-Mart and its warehouse membership chain Traders in 2025, according to local outlet Maeil Business Newspaper. Domestic beer followed at 23.8%, ahead of wine at 19.7%, soju at 14.5% and imported beer at 11%.

The change has been building for several years. In 2022, domestic beer still led with a 24.3% sales share, compared with 17.9% for whisky. But whisky sales surged 51.4% that year, lifting the category to second place. Growth continued in 2023 and 2024, rising 25.2% and 16.6% respectively, before increasing by about 5% in 2025 — enough to push whisky ahead of domestic beer.

An E-Mart representative said it was the first time in the company’s history that a category other than domestic beer had ranked first in alcohol sales.

The surging demand for whisky is largely driven by the country’s expanding young generations, as they currently view drinking whisky, which was once regarded as a drink for middle-aged men, as very trendy, according to E-Mart.

Founded in 1993, E-Mart is a core retail platform of Shinsegae Group, operating hypermarkets, warehouse membership stores, convenience outlets and e-commerce businesses. As of September 2025, the company ran about 156 hypermarket stores. In the first three quarters of 2025, E-Mart reported revenue of 21.66 trillion won (US$16.66 billion) and net profit attributable to shareholders of 284.4 billion won (US$219 million).

Whisky’s sustained expansion reflects shifting consumer behaviour in a high-inflation environment. As living costs rise, some consumers seeking mid- to premium-priced whiskies appear to be moving away from specialist liquor chains toward large-scale retailers offering stronger price competitiveness.

In 2024, E-Mart and Traders together sold about 3.2 million bottles of whisky and carried more than 1,000 stock keeping units, or SKUs. Market observers say the retailer has become one of the most comprehensive whisky destinations in South Korea’s mass retail sector. Its centralized procurement model gives it a clear pricing advantage.

Yet the retail boom has not translated into higher import values. South Korean customs data show that whisky import value has declined in recent years, falling from US$266.8 million in 2022 to US$226.9 million in 2025 after three consecutive years of contraction.

The divergence was particularly evident in 2023, when import value fell 2.69% year-on-year even as import volume rose 13.12%, indicating higher volumes at lower average prices. Analysts say this suggests a growing influx of lower-priced whisky into the market — a trend that may be linked to large retailers leveraging scale to negotiate lower purchasing costs.