"Can't you find a 1,000-won whistle?" A surge in demand... Self-defense items sell out fast following knife attacks

Following the knife attack incident at an Incheon shopping mall on the 13th that resulted in casualties, searches for and sales of self-defense items surged significantly across major e-commerce platforms such as Coupang, 11th, and Daiso Mall. This trend is similar to the temporary decrease in foot traffic around the areas and the increase in self-defense item sales observed after previous knife attack incidents at Sinlim Station and Bundang Seohyeon Station.

According to industry sources on the 15th, searches for women's self-defense items such as pepper spray, whistles, and self-defense bells have increased significantly on Coupang recently, with sales revenue rising by double digits compared to the beginning of the year. The 1,000-won emergency LED whistle set sold at Daiso is out of stock on its online mall, and it is reportedly difficult to find in offline stores due to insufficient inventory. Self-defense bells that emit a loud 100-decibel sound when the loop is pulled in an emergency were also sold for 1,000 won, but after selling out in September, no additional stock has been received, making them currently unavailable in stores.

On e-commerce platform 11th, the transaction value for self-defense items such as batons, self-defense alarms, and self-defense sprays increased by 158% year-on-year over the two days following the incident on the 13th. In particular, transactions for self-defense alarms, which are used to create noise to signal an emergency situation, increased by more than five times. The company explained that searches for related products surged significantly on the day of the incident.

Interest in self-defense items tends to concentrate immediately after violent crimes occur. According to Naver Data Lab, searches for self-defense items increased significantly in early May when the Jang Yun-gi incident occurred and at the end of August when the identity of a missing woman in Jeju was confirmed. It is also known that related search volumes surged in early September when it was additionally revealed that the police officer in charge of the Jeju disappearance case had falsely closed the investigation.

Immediately after the unprovoked knife attack incidents at Sinlim-dong and Bundang Seohyeon Station in 2023, sales of self-defense items on major e-commerce platforms such as Gmarket and 11th increased by more than three times year-on-year. At that time, the proportion of male buyers was high, which is interpreted as reflecting demand for proxy purchases for family members and romantic partners, in addition to personal defense purposes.

Companies are managing appropriate inventory levels of self-defense items under normal circumstances. This is based on the judgment that, unlike daily necessities such as toilet paper and wet wipes, these products do not have a consistent stream of demand. An industry official explained, "Self-defense items such as sprays and batons are product categories for which large quantities are not usually held in stock because, although inventory may be short-term insufficient immediately after major violent crimes become an issue, supply and demand gradually stabilize thereafter."