COVID-19 Breakthrough Filial Shopping... 2030 Generation Buying Vitamins and Ramyeon for Parents

Difficulty in Interregional Travel and Meetings Due to COVID-19
Gifting Hearts to Parents Unfamiliar with Digital Devices
Easy to Use with Notifications After Online Delivery

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has risen to over 7,300, so-called 'Hyo (Filial) Shopping' using online grocery shopping applications (apps) has become a major trend. The 30s and 40s generation, who have moved out of their parents' homes, are increasingly purchasing items online on behalf of their parents' generation, who are not familiar with online shopping, and then delivering them.

◆Online Shopping on Behalf of Parents Doubled= According to the industry on the 10th, since February, cases of changing the delivery address to send goods at the three major large marts have increased by anywhere from 20% to about twice compared to the same period last year. With outdoor outings becoming difficult, it is interpreted that 'Hyo Shopping,' where the younger generation sends daily necessities on behalf of the elderly who are not familiar with online shopping, has increased.

In the case of Emart Mall, the number of cases where the delivery address was changed from Seoul to other regions doubled (100% increase) in February compared to the same period last year, marking the largest increase. Narrowing the period to the recent week from February 24 to March 1, the increase reached 109%. Among these, the region with the highest increase rate in February was Daegu Metropolitan City, which rose by 118%. Gangwon Province and Ulsan Metropolitan City followed with 115% each, and even Incheon Metropolitan City, which recorded the lowest increase rate, rose by as much as 83%.

The situation is similar for Lotte Shopping's Lotte.com and Lotte Mart. In the case of Lotte Mart Mall, the number of orders changing the delivery address from the original location to another region increased by 65.9% in February compared to the same period last year. Lotte.com also recorded a 20.7% increase compared to the previous year. According to Homeplus, the number of orders temporarily changing the delivery address on the online mall in February increased by 13% compared to the same period last year. In particular, after the COVID-19 crisis alert was raised to the 'serious' level, the number of delivery address change orders from February 24 to March 1 increased by more than 58% compared to the previous week. In line with this trend, Homeplus held a 'Grocery Shopping on Behalf of Parents' event, offering discounts on health functional foods and nourishing foods.

Although it is difficult to collect similar data for open markets, a similar pattern is observed. An Auction representative explained, "It is difficult to track detailed delivery addresses for individual sellers, so it is hard to confirm with numbers, but cases similar to those in large marts are increasing."

◆Consumption Focused on Daily Necessities and Staple Foods= In February, the top-ranking items by company were fresh foods, eggs, rice, and ramen, which are staple foods. At Lotte Mart Mall, among major daily necessities sales, eggs increased by 85.8%, rice by 37.3%, ramen by 107.7%, and cup rice by 121.6% compared to the previous year. Among health functional food sales, the products with the highest growth rates were vitamins (127.5%) and red ginseng and immunity products (106.8%). It is interpreted that the demand for emergency food surged as the nationwide emergency system was activated due to the spread of COVID-19.

On online communities, shopping reviews sharing heartwarming stories are following. A housewife in her 40s living in Seoul, Seong Ye-seul (anonymous), frequently visits the apps of the three major large marts. She sent semi-prepared meals and vitamins to her parents in their 70s living in her hometown in Gyeongsang Province. She said, "When I see elderly people standing in line without masks in front of marts and post offices in Seoul, I think of my parents and feel heartbroken, so I order daily necessities on their behalf and send them." Gifts from parents worried about their children are also increasing. Shim Yeon-ju (anonymous), a young worker in her 20s working at a branch office in Busan, received a surprise package containing ramen, instant rice, and daily necessities from her parents in Seoul last week. Shim said, "There are three types of ramen alone, from spicy to jjajang (black bean sauce) ramen and fried noodles. I wonder when I will finish them all, but I am grateful because I feel my parents' concern and love."

Song Seung-seon, head of Homeplus Mobile Business Division, said, "We have prepared a filial shopping campaign to help vulnerable health groups shop safely," adding, "We will do our best to stabilize the supply of daily necessities for the public by quickly delivering the freshest products from the mart closest to customers' homes anytime and anywhere."

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