'Hunger marketing' angers consumers

By Park Jae-hyuk

WeMakePrice, Barrel and Topten have drawn criticism from consumers for their recent “hunger marketing,” according to industry officials Tuesday.

Hunger marketing is a strategy focusing on consumer psychology, making them “hungry” and thus having a strong desire to buy products that other people also want to buy.

It prompts people to make emotional decisions by emphasizing scarcity.

Such a marketing tactic, however, may cause customer complaints if a company's unpreparedness results in server failures and an insufficient supply of goods.

WeMakePrice is an example.

The e-commerce firm's server was down Monday, while it offered a 50 percent discount on 800 AirPods.

Some angry consumers, who missed the chance to buy the wireless Apple headphones for lower prices, even filed petitions with Cheong Wa Dae.

“The website went down five minutes before the beginning of the event,” a consumer wrote on the Cheong Wa Dae website. “The government should investigate WeMakePrice to clarify whether it intentionally blocked access to its website or ridiculed consumers with a fake event.”

WeMakePrice apologized for the inconvenience, but it denied the accusations.

Apparel makers, which held similar events before WeMakePrice's, also faced criticism.

Barrel, a sports brand known for rash guards and swimsuits, held a five-day event starting Oct. 17 offering up to 50 percent discounts on its products.

It has held the promotional event annually for five years.

After offering discounts through its website until Oct. 19, the company held a two-day discount event at its offline stores nationwide on Oct. 20 and 21.

During the event, the brand name was one of the most searched terms on the nation's three major portal sites.

Also, its website suffered a server failure, just as in the case of WeMakePrice's sale.

Barrel apologized for the inconvenience, saying it was unprepared for the unexpected public demand.

Topten, a Shinsung Tongsang fast fashion brand, faced similar problems during its recent “buy one, get one free” event on 10 new items.

When it began its biggest-ever promotional event on Oct. 10, its official online mall was temporarily unavailable due to heavy online traffic.

Topten said it increased the server capacity but the number of visitors surpassed its expectations.

Critics point out that domestic companies keep having the same problems despite their recurrence.

“The companies are seemingly trying to create a buzz to promote the popularity of their online malls ahead of China's Singles' Day on Nov. 11 and the U.S.'s Black Friday on the fourth Thursday of November,” a retail industry official said.

According to industry officials, online retailers are preparing for large discount events in November to cash in on shopping crazes worldwide.