Yeoju Premium Village, a factory outlet in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province / Newsis

Factory outlets are enjoying a surge in sales, as customers want to buy clothes at lower prices due to the high cost of living.

While customers cut spending on clothing and fashion wear, they were apparently willing to open their wallets when they found prices affordable.

Accordingly, a factory outlet operated by E-Land Retail, an affiliate of fashion and retail conglomerate E-Land, saw its operating profit for 2024 triple from a year earlier.

The outlet experienced a 470 percent year-on-year increase in customers in their 20s and 30s.

The company said it will expand its customers in 2025 to a broader age group, particularly those in their 40s and 50s, to reap more profits.

Shinsegae Department Store, a top shopping mall brand in the country, said its factory outlets reached the 100-billion won ($68.35 million) milestone in annual transactions in 2024.

The amount increased from 7.5 billion won in the first year of its opening in 2017, with its annual growth rate averaging 38 percent since then.

Its success in 2024 can be attributed to the sales of carryover products at discounted prices of 30 percent to 80 percent.

"[Factory outlets became] popular as well, as luxurious overseas brands are gathered in one place while prices are not burdensome," a spokesperson for the department store said.

The company is considering opening four new outlets nationwide this year.