Consultant Steve Shin, 38, is putting away money each month to buy things on his wish list: a beam projector, a drone, and a remote-controlled car.

“I actually wanted to buy a convertible, but that seems a little over the top. I want to buy something for myself, and I think my wish list is pretty reasonable,” Shin said.


Shin is among a growing number of middle-aged men who are interested in collecting gadgets as a hobby, opening up a new market of untapped consumers for the sluggish retail sector.

With low-end remote-controlled cars and hobby drones starting at around 50,000 won ($45) apiece, gadgets represent a new affordable category of hobby spending.

According to data from online open market Gmarket, between June and August this year, men made up 65 percent of sales for the helicopter, airplane and drone category, and 62 percent in the motorized scooter and wheel categories.

The most notable growth was in men over 40. Purchases of remote-controlled cars saw on-year growth of 42 percent among men over 50, and 60 percent in men over 60. Meanwhile, purchases of motorized scooters and motorized wheel vehicles saw an increase of 320 percent in men over 40, an increase of 202 percent in men over 50 and an increase of 260 percent in men over 60.

According to another open market 11st, which saw 29 percent on-year growth in its remote-controlled toy category this summer, 84 percent of purchasers in this category were between the ages of 30 and 50.

Experts say that the surge of spending on these hobby gadgets is a combination of changing perceptions of spending by men as well as the increased availability of products that uniquely appeal to men.

“In the past, men did not spend a lot on themselves. Most of their hobby spending would be sports-related,” Dongguk University business professor Yeo Jun-sang told The Korea Herald.

“But with increasing stress due to the slow economy, men are looking for more entertainment and hobby activities like flying drones. They are more willing to spend money on products that reflect and embody their personal interests, just as women spend money on fashion and beauty for themselves.”

The rising demand has caught the attention of retailers who have moved quickly to provide shopping and leisure spaces for male consumers.

Discount retailer E-mart debuted the electronics specialty store Electromart last June with a focus on experience. Electromart describes its own trademark as being a test zone for drones, action figures, smart toys and remote-controlled cars.

In the first 10 months, Electromart surpassed its initial annual sales goal of 30 billion won ($26.9 million) at its first store at Kintex. Despite having the Electromart stores inside its E-mart stores, which are visited mostly by women shopping for groceries, one-third of visitors to Electromart are men, according to E-mart. Half of the purchases made at Electromart are by customers in their 20s and 30s.

Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, which established itself early as a leader in leisure drones here, opened a drone arena in Gyeonggi Province in August as a “gathering place for aerial enthusiasts as well as ... those who are learning about aerial technology such as first time pilots.”

The arena is outfitted with a LED-lit circuit that allows pilots to test their skills, as well as monitors that allow pilots to view flights from a first-person perspective.

Sookmyung Women’s University business professor Seo Yong-gu says that social forces are responsible for the increasing demand for both gadgets and spaces to enjoy them.

“Men inherently want to be in control, and tend to prefer products that engage their spatial perceptions,” he said. “Toys like remote-controlled cars and drones satisfy those desires. Men feel very attached to these types of toys.” 

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)

-- Staff reporter Kim Bo-gyung contributed to this article.