[Gettyimages Bank]
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a significant change in South Korean consumers' shopping patterns. According to the national statistics service, a total of about 206.5 trillion won ($156.8 billion) was spent on online shopping. The amount increased by 54 percent from 2017's 94.1 trillion won. The sharp increase in online shopping was backed by various overnight delivery services introduced by Coupang, the South Korean counterpart of Amazon, and other major megastore brands that offered instant or overnight grocery delivery services.
The delivery services were favored by young working people or parents with young children because they did not have to spend time visiting a nearby mega-mart to shop. By using their smartphones, groceries were delivered to their doorsteps early in the morning. Meal kits, packaged foods also known as heat-and-eat meal packs, became popular. According to Euromonitor, a global market research firm, South Korea's meal kit market stood at about $340 billion, up 23 percent from a year ago.
Emart, the megastore franchise operated by South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, adjusted the operating hours of 66 Emart stores across the country to 10:00 p.m. in February 2023. Other stores stay open until 11:00 p.m. but the franchise operator said it would gradually increase the number of stores that only operate until 10:00 p.m.
Homeplus, de facto the rival of Emart, will also reduce the operating hours of 24 stores to 10:00 p.m. Other Homeplus stores normally close between 11:00 p.m. and midnight. "This is a measure taken because the number of customers visiting our stores late at night decreased while the number of shoppers increased during peak times," a Homeplus official told Aju Business Daily on April 2. "We selected the stores with reduced operating hours based on nearby commercial districts. The operating hours will be adjusted fluidly in the future," the official said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
