[Report] "Let's Catch the Last 20% Refund... Galaxy S26 Stock Also Sold Out"

Final Rush for Phone Upgrades on Last Day of Samsung Festival
Popular Mobile Stores Delay Closing Hours
Official Subsidies Combined with Gift Certificate Benefits

"We have sold over 140 mobile phones in the past four days. This is a record-breaking sales volume."

On the 5th, when a reporter visited a renowned mobile phone store in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the store was crowded with people looking to purchase mobile phones, even though it was close to the 6 p.m. closing time. The rush of last-minute demand was driven by the conclusion of Samsung Electronics' "Together with the Nation, Samsung Electronics Appreciation Festival," which had been running since June 8 and ended on this day, prompting consumers to buy phones at lower prices. An employee at the store said, "The majority of buyers are customers of the Galaxy S26 series," adding, "Normally, we close at 7 p.m., but due to the high number of buyers today, we will have to work late."

Jeong Myungja, an SK Telecom subscriber in her 50s whom we met at the store, said, "With the Samsung festival, I could get back an amount equivalent to 20% of the phone's purchase price in Onnuri gift certificates, and I often use traditional markets," adding, "Since I could receive both the official subsidy and the gift certificate refund, I rushed here before the store closed." Park Ji-won, a customer in her 20s who uses LG Uplus, said, "It is true that the benefits are greater than usual, but having to use an expensive 110,000 won monthly plan for six months seemed burdensome, so I decided to buy the phone outright," adding, "I bought the S26 Ultra device, but because the store was low on stock, they said I can only receive and activate the product on the 7th."

According to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), the "Together with the Nation, Samsung Electronics Appreciation Festival" triggered a surge in mobile phone replacement demand, with 641,932 mobile number portability cases in June, an increase of 57,727 (9.9%) from the previous month. Considering that June is typically an off-season, it is unusual for the number of porting cases to surpass May, which includes "Family Month." A KT representative said, "The device distribution strategy linked to the Samsung festival event period, as well as online market discounts, proved popular with customers."

According to Samsung Electronics, after the Appreciation Festival, the average number of visitors to Samsung Stores nationwide surged by more than 75% compared to before the event, and some stores even recorded more than double the previous number of visitors. A home appliance industry official stated, "As attention focused on the Appreciation Festival, many products, including mobile phones and PCs, were sold," and added, "Customers who considered the Onnuri gift certificate refund as a tangible benefit continued to visit the stores."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.