E-commerce 'Emergency'... Ramen, Bottled Water, and Ready Meals Sales Surge

Surge in Essential Goods Orders Amid Prolonged COVID-19 Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] E-commerce companies are facing an emergency. As more people refrain from going out due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), orders are surging. Not only hygiene products such as masks and hand sanitizers, which are in short supply, but also orders for convenience foods, ramen, and bottled water have noticeably increased. This is interpreted as a surge in demand from people trying to stock up on daily necessities in anticipation of the prolonged COVID-19 situation.

According to the e-commerce industry on the 7th, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases sharply increased, the sense of crisis heightened, and during the month of February, orders for daily necessities increased by more than 500% depending on the item. At Wemakeprice, the total sales of all products searched with the keyword "convenience foods" from January 28 to February 27 surged by 490.79% compared to the previous month. During the same period, sales of instant meals, a type of convenience food, also rose by 178.54%. Sales of Korean food items such as instant side dishes increased by 12,569.14%, instant samgyetang by 321.06%, and instant soup by 76.45%. Ramen and cup rice, which are easy meals, also increased by 246.9% and 195.95%, respectively.

At TMON, looking at the sales of major daily necessities such as ramen, detergent, and bottled water during February, sales rose more than threefold compared to the previous year. Among household items, soap and hand wash led with a 1242% increase, followed by detergent and fabric softener with a 174% increase, and toilet paper with a 124% increase in orders. Among food items, ramen increased by 575%, instant rice by 151%, and bottled water by 189%.

Coupang also saw daily orders surge from about 2.2 million at the end of December last year to 3 million currently. Especially, orders for food and daily necessities are so high that early sellouts are occurring. A Coupang official said, "Orders have increased unpredictably, causing early sellouts depending on the region and item," adding, "We are making every effort to secure inventory and ensure there are no disruptions in delivery."

Although orders for daily necessities have greatly increased, e-commerce companies cannot simply welcome this situation. There are issues such as delivery delays due to a shortage of personnel to handle the surge in orders. Expanding delivery personnel is also difficult due to the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, the increase in sales of daily necessities does not directly translate into company profits. An industry insider said, "Although orders for daily necessities have increased, cancellations of travel products and tickets have risen, causing a significant drop in transaction volume."

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