"COVID-19 Driven Consumption Changes, App Data Knows"

WiseApp Quantifies February Internet Payment Increase Through Sample Survey

CEO Chang Yang-myeong

In February of this year, when confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) began to rise sharply, a culture of refraining from going out and preferring non-face-to-face transactions spread, leading to a significant increase in online purchases. Although the possibility of industrial restructuring was mentioned, the extent of the changes had to rely on sporadically disclosed data from each company. Cha Yang-myeong, CEO of Ideaware, presented this scattered information clearly in numbers through application (app) data analysis.

On the 18th, CEO Cha stated, "A sample survey of the amount paid by Koreans on major internet shopping platforms showed that the payment amounts for all major services increased compared to January." According to 'WiseApp,' an app data analysis service provided by Ideaware, Coupang's estimated payment amount in February was 1.63 trillion KRW, a 13% increase from 1.44 trillion KRW in January, and eBay Korea's estimated payment amount rose from 1.26 trillion KRW to 1.44 trillion KRW during the same period. 11st also showed a 13% increase. CEO Cha explained, "Usually, payment amounts decrease in February compared to January, but the fact that payment amounts increased for most internet shopping services can be interpreted as a significant rise, reflecting the COVID-19 situation."

The increase was particularly notable on Coupang. Coupang recorded a payment amount of 679.3 billion KRW in February 2018, but it has steadily increased since then, reaching 1.63 trillion KRW in February this year, ranking first among internet shopping companies. As of February, 14.03 million consumers made payments on Coupang, spending an average of 35,550 KRW per transaction, with 3.5 transactions per month, totaling 122,950 KRW per person. CEO Cha said, "Regardless of financial considerations, the continuous increase in transaction amounts is noteworthy."

The specific figures provided by WiseApp are presented as statistical estimates based on panel surveys. With consent and anonymized app usage information extracted according to demographic distribution, the optimal sample size is set at over 50,000 as of February this year. This method analyzes app usage data on Android smartphones of Korean individuals aged 10 and above.

CEO Cha views these app usage data as reflecting changes in our lives and the world. App usage varies by generation, weekdays and weekends, and seasons. According to CEO Cha, these differences can become valuable information depending on interpretation. How app usage data is interpreted and utilized can reveal social trends and economic flows. This is why he launched the WiseApp service in 2016, making app data analysis a business model. Since starting paid services in 2017, over 300 companies have subscribed, and the number of customers continues to grow. CEO Cha explained, "Last year, we also launched WiseRetail to analyze retail information that does not use apps," adding, "The number of customers using both WiseApp and WiseRetail is increasing."

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