Due to the Impact of COVID-19... January Consumer Inquiries on 'Health and Hygiene Products' Increase by 1153%

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Last month, consumer consultations related to health and hygiene products surged due to the impact of COVID-19.

According to an analysis of consumer consultations received by the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency and the Korea Consumer Organization Council, the total number of consultations in January decreased by 3.4% compared to the previous month, but consultations regarding health and hygiene products increased by 1153.7%, the agencies announced on the 14th.

Among these, the most common consumer complaints were about delivery delays or purchase cancellations of masks bought through e-commerce.

Consultations related to overseas travel also increased by 395.8%, and consultations related to air passenger transport services (59.4%), dining out (43.8%), and hotels and pensions (42.7%) also rose sharply.

Most of these were consultations regarding penalties for contract cancellations due to concerns about COVID-19 infection.

Compared to the same month last year, consultations related to health and hygiene products (551%) and overseas travel (250.9%) also increased significantly.

By age group, consultations from people in their 30s were the highest at 16,329 cases (30.3%), followed by those in their 40s with 14,909 cases (27.5%), and those in their 50s with 10,552 cases (19.5%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.