Foot Traffic to Stores Drops Sharply Due to COVID-19... But Delivery Sales of Dining Brands Soar

Rapid Increase in Delivery Orders for Korean Food and Desserts Beyond Chicken
Delivery Sales Soar by Tens of Percent for Brands like Nolbu and Bon I F
Expansion of Delivery Service Range by Dining Businesses... Increasing Menu Variety

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on January 20, most sectors in the dining industry have faced a crisis due to a decline in customer numbers and sales. However, delivery orders and sales for various dining brands have surged. As consumers increasingly avoid going out due to infection concerns, delivery sales for Korean food and desserts, excluding the traditionally popular chicken delivery menus, have also significantly increased.

On the 17th, according to comprehensive dining specialist company Nolbu, delivery sales last month increased by 20% compared to December of the previous year. Nolbu’s main delivery-focused brands include Nolbu Bossam Jokbal, Nolbu Budae Jjigae, as well as the handmade snack brand ‘Donkaseu Pongdang Tteokbokki Gongsugan,’ the pork belly delivery specialist brand ‘Samgyeop Bonung,’ and the steamed chicken brand ‘Heungbu Jjimdak.’

BonIF, a Korean food franchise company operating Bonjuk, Bondosirak, and Bonsul, announced that after running a ‘Zero Delivery Fee Event’ from the 3rd to the 9th of this month, its mobile delivery app ‘BonOrder’ saw a 53.5% increase in sales over the same period last month. During the week starting from the 3rd, orders through BonOrder increased by approximately 11,000 compared to the previous month, and delivery order sales excluding takeout orders within BonOrder rose by 92.9% compared to the previous month.

The dessert cafe ‘Sulbing’ reported that its delivery sales last month doubled compared to the same month last year. Delivery order volume also increased by 94% during the same period. Compared to April 2018, when delivery service was introduced, this represents a 470% growth. Average sales per store also rose by 300%.

McDonald’s drive-thru platform ‘McDrive’ saw a 20% increase in sales over the past three weeks, and the sales share of its delivery platform ‘McDelivery’ also slightly increased. The average purchase amount per person at McDrive rose by about 12% over the last three weeks, and delivery sales growth more than doubled. Among restaurant visitors, the proportion of customers ordering three or more burger sets for bulk takeout increased, and the use of multi-person burger set discount coupons offered through the official McDonald’s mobile app also rose.

Meanwhile, according to the 5th survey results of the ‘Dining Industry COVID-19 Impact Monitoring Survey’ jointly conducted by the Korea Foodservice Industry Association’s Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, an analysis of 600 dining establishments showed that the ‘Korean food’ sector experienced the highest customer decline at 70.9%, followed by ‘Chicken specialty stores’ at 67.3%, and ‘Japanese/Western food’ at 61.2%. ‘Chinese food’ and ‘Gimbap and others’ also saw customer decreases of 57.5% and 47.2%, respectively.

In response, the dining industry has aggressively expanded delivery services and launched related promotions. Gongcha Korea, a tea beverage specialty brand, expanded delivery services to over 300 stores nationwide starting from the 13th. It partnered with delivery applications ‘Baedal Minjok’ and ‘Yogiyo’ to broaden delivery channels. In particular, it expanded the service range of Baedal Minjok, the country’s number one delivery app, to enhance order accessibility.

SPC Group’s Italian casual restaurant ‘La Grillia’ has launched a new delivery-only menu called ‘Home Dining’ and is running promotions. The new Home Dining products include three types: ▲BLT Sandwich Box featuring a BLT sandwich with French fries ▲Original Hot Dog Box ▲Fresh Chicken Wrap Box.

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