CJ Mebzo Media Releases Fashion and Finance Industry Analysis Report

CJ Mebzo Media announced on the 1st that it had published the "2026 Industry Analysis Report." The report covers market conditions and consumer purchasing behavior in the fashion and finance industries, as well as media usage patterns.

The report was produced based on the results of an online survey of about 1,000 residents of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and the five major metropolitan cities. The survey targeted people who had purchased fashion items within the past 3 months and those who had subscribed to financial products within the past 1 year, and it was designed to reflect the latest consumer and media trends.

The report also drew on media data accumulated on "ADLY," CJ Mebzo Media's in-house AI-based integrated ad operations platform, along with analysis of monthly ad spending trends. The company said it produced the report by combining these materials.

Among them, the fashion industry report highlighted expanded AI-based product discovery, the growth of the Re-Commerce market, and the expansion of the sportswear market as major changes.

The survey found changes in how products are searched for amid the spread of AI. Among all respondents, 39% said they had used AI to look up fashion product information. Among teenagers, the rate of experience using AI to search for fashion product information was 57%, the highest among all generations.

Among respondents who used AI to search for fashion products, 60% said they had purchased products mentioned by AI. Among people in their 40s, 66% said they had purchased products mentioned by AI. The figure for people in their 40s exceeded the overall average of 59%.

The growth of secondhand clothing and fashion item trading in the Re-Commerce market was also surveyed. The share of respondents who had experience buying secondhand fashion items was 42%, and the share who had experience selling secondhand fashion items was also 42%. The top reason for buying secondhand fashion items was the low price, at 72%.

The company also said that, alongside the rise in secondhand trading, fashion companies are expanding their own secondhand trading services. As an example from Musinsa, Musinsa Used was cited, and as an example from Hyundai Department Store, the Buyback service was cited. The company said its assessment is that in-house secondhand trading services are expanding.

As the sportswear market emerged as a new growth pillar, respondents reported an average of 2.2 types of sports they participate in. The share of respondents who had purchased sportswear for the sports they participate in was also 78%.

As for purchase channels, the main channels were found to be portal sites, outlets, and open markets, in that order. By generation, people in their 20s and 40s showed a tendency to buy mainly through online channels, while teenagers tended to buy mainly through official offline stores.

Consumers were found to search for related product information through online fashion platforms, Instagram, and YouTube. Among these, the most frequently encountered ad format was short-form video ads, and 46% of respondents said they had searched for or purchased products after watching an ad.

CJ Mebzo Media projected that more consumers are combining various types of exercise centered on running and fitness. It said that, against the backdrop of such consumer behavior and diversified exercise patterns, segmentation and specialization are emerging in the sportswear market.

According to an analysis of its own ad data, the share of ad spending in the fashion industry was 25% for Google, 17% for Naver, 17% for Meta, and 16% for Kakao.

Because fashion ads require strong visual impact, outdoor advertising, which can display video and images in large formats, was used extensively, accounting for 7%. Ad spending was active in May and September, with seasonal transition periods cited as the background for those months.

Ad spending was also high in December, with year-end promotions cited as the reason. Accordingly, fashion ad spending was concentrated during seasonal changes and year-end promotional periods.

Major changes in the financial market were presented as the evolution of financial AI, the rise of next-generation payment infrastructure, and the development from super apps to AI banks. Among them, financial AI was found to be evolving from an "AI assistant" to an AI agent. The "AI assistant" performs conversational guidance functions such as account inquiries, spending analysis, and financial product consultations, while the AI agent performs functions such as creating personalized financial plans, comparing products, and completing applications on behalf of customers.

Among users of AI assistants, 70% said they use them at least once a week. Based on this, the company analyzed that AI use in financial information search and asset management may become more commonplace.

Respondents showed the greatest satisfaction with functions that analyze personal spending habits and provide personalized recommendations. The top reason for satisfaction was personal spending habit analysis and personalized recommendations, at 49%. At the same time, expectations for AI agents were also high.

A total of 67% of respondents said they would be willing to use AI agents for complex financial tasks such as investing, asset management, insurance, and tax management. The top expected use case for AI agents was investing and asset management, at 69%.

The company forecast that payment methods will evolve toward software-friendly formats as AI agents expand always-on, automated transactions. It also presented stablecoins and deposit tokens as new payment infrastructure in the era of AI agents.

At the same time, the pace of development in financial platforms was also accelerating. A total of 67% of respondents said they had experience using a financial super app. Within a single platform, consumption and shopping accounted for 65%, and stocks for 54%.

The company said financial platforms will evolve from internet banking to super apps and then to the "AI bank" stage. The average number of financial apps used by consumers was 10.5. The company explained that the "AI bank" will function as a platform that covers everything from product recommendations based on customer data to payment execution.

Amid these changes, consumers' information search channels were found to be financial firms' mobile apps and portal sites. The ad medium consumers encountered most was YouTube. The most frequently encountered ad format was in-stream video ads.

According to an analysis of its own ad spending data, the main media for financial industry ad spending were Google at 30%, Naver at 19%, and OTT at 12%. The company analyzed that the major media range from portal sites to video streaming. Accordingly, media planning was carried out with consideration for customer lifestyles and touchpoints.

The point at which financial ad spending was concentrated was March. The company cited the new school year and new season, along with the establishment of new financial plans and changes in daily patterns, as the background for the budget concentration in March.

Source: TECHWORLD · Lee Gwang-jae
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=407649

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=407649