Dependent on Delivery Food but Afraid to Meet Riders... "Please Leave It at the Door"

COVID-19 Cases Exceed 7,000, Delivery Food Orders Increase
Delivery Rider Contact Raises Infection Concerns... Non-Face-to-Face Requests and Direct Payment Share Soar

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Han Bora (34, pseudonym), who lives in Guro-gu, Seoul, has recently been opting for delivery food instead of dining out due to concerns about the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Although many restaurants offer a 'meet and pay' service where customers pay cash upon face-to-face delivery, she fears that contact with delivery workers who visit multiple locations might increase the risk of COVID-19 infection, so she leaves a message asking them to leave the food at the door.

According to the delivery industry on the 10th, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Korea exceeded 7,000 and infection concerns rose, even delivery workers are avoiding face-to-face contact.

On the delivery app Yogiyo, comparing data from one month before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, the proportion of orders selecting 'Leave the food at the door' increased by 24% in February compared to January. Also, comparing order patterns from February 24 to March 4, when telecommuting among office workers spread nationwide, with the non-implementation period (February 14 to February 23), the proportion choosing 'Leave the food at the door' increased by 111%.

A Yogiyo representative explained, "On the 4th, right after the official launch of the safety campaign, the proportion of 'Leave the food at the door' selections reached its peak." Since the 3rd, Yogiyo has added a ‘Safe Delivery Feature’ that allows easy non-face-to-face order requests to encourage contactless delivery to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Customers select the menu as usual, and on the order and payment page, by simply checking the safety delivery checkbox placed at the top of the order request section, the contactless delivery function ‘Leave at the door and call me’ is automatically set.

For customers who choose 'on-site payment' where they receive and pay for food directly, Yogiyo recommends using contactless payment options such as 'Yogiyo 1-second payment' or 'Yogiyo payment' to safely use the delivery service.

In the case of Baedal Minjok, the proportion of 'immediate payment' completed through the app at the time of food ordering increased from 91% in January to about 93% recently. The proportion of face-to-face 'meet and pay' decreased by about 2-3% from January to February. Baedal Minjok has been conducting a ‘Nationwide Safe Delivery’ campaign since the 26th of last month. They strongly recommend prepayment through in-app methods rather than meet and pay when ordering food to prevent cash or cards from being exchanged hand-to-hand. They also urge customers to actively use the ‘rider requests’ when ordering. If customers suggest specific delivery methods such as ‘Leave it at the front door,’ face-to-face contact is reduced, thereby blocking the possibility of infection.

A Baedal Minjok representative said, "It is still early to see results, but we expect the number of contactless orders to gradually increase."

Meanwhile, according to the delivery industry, as fear of virus infection continues to discourage going out, orders through delivery apps have increased. Since the first confirmed case in Korea on January 20, Baedal Minjok orders have increased by an average of 7-8%.

Consumers visiting offline dining establishments continue to decrease. According to three survey results released by the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute, the number of customers at dining establishments has continuously declined since the first confirmed case on January 20. A survey conducted over four days from February 18 to 21 targeting 600 member establishments of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association showed a sharp 32.7% drop in customer numbers. In the second survey conducted from February 11 to 14, 83.0% of restaurants responded that customer numbers had decreased compared to before January 20 over the past three weeks. In the first survey conducted from February 4 to 7, 85.7% of respondents said customer numbers had decreased.

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