Korean brands certainly have the digital prowess for fast growth, based on L2 data. The Digital IQ Index®: Korea Beauty, which assesses the digital performance of 30 global and 34 local brands in the country, finds local brands are dominating the top rankings. Seven of the top 10 brands in the Index are Korean, with AmorePacific having the highest Digital IQ of all conglomerates with brands in the Index, according to L2.

L2 insights point to the digital gap between local and global brands in the country. Just 18% of local beauty brands in Korea offer no link to e-commerce (whether through an e-tailer or directly on the brand site) vs. 30% of global brands in the country. Online sales make up 9% of the Beauty market in Korea, on par with the U.S.

According to L2, with the average growth rate of 9% year over year since 2008, the Korean skin care and cosmetics market remains a beacon in the Asian market. Here, some top points from L2’s report on Korea.

• Despite the allure, global players including L’Oréal Groupe, Estée Lauder Companies, and Johnson & Johnson registered flat to negative market share growth in 2013. The beauty industry in South Korea is highly concentrated with half of the market controlled by AmorePacfic Corp. and LG Household & Health Care.

• Local brands capture 7 of the top 10 spots in the Korean Beauty Digital Guide.

• Online beauty sales account for 9% of the total market, on par with the US but just half of that in China.

• Facebook is the most popular social platform among beauty brands in South Korea, with 72% active of on the platform, followed by Youtube at 63%. The free mobile instant messaging platform, KakaoTalk, boasts 35 million users.

• The Korean search engine market is also dominated by local players, such as Naver and Daum. Google gets less than 1% of users.

The top beauty brands in L2’s Digital IQ ranking include:

1. Etude House, AmorePacific Corp.

2. Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder Companies

3. Skin Food, Skin Food Co.
4. Laneige, Amore Pacific Corp.

5. The Face Shop, LG Household & Health Care
6. Hera, AmorePacific

7. L’Occitane, Groupe L’Occitane
8. Innisfree, AmorePacific

9. The Body Shop, L’Oréal Group
10. Tony Moly, Tony Moly Co.

For information on how to acquire L2’s member-only The Digital IQ Index®: Korea Beauty click here.