75% of Seoul Citizens Have Experienced 'Contactless Consumption'... Average Usage 2.3 Times per Week

Seoul Institute Reports 3.3p Increase in Q2 Citizen Perceived Economy to 86.1
Current Life Index Declines While Future Life and Housing Purchase Indices Rise

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that three out of four Seoul citizens have experienced 'contactless consumption' in areas such as food delivery, shopping, and finance.

According to the report "Q2 Seoul Consumer Sentiment and Contactless Economy" released by the Seoul Institute on the 29th, a survey of 1,200 citizens showed that 74.7% (896 people) responded that they had experience with contactless consumption activities.

Citizens who experienced contactless consumption activities were found to engage in such activities an average of 2.3 times per week.

The fields in which contactless consumption activities were experienced were mainly food (54.0%), shopping (37.2%), and finance (6.6%). The areas where preference for contactless methods was higher than face-to-face methods were entertainment (70.7%), finance (70.4%), and shopping (60.1%), in that order.

The main reason these experienced users preferred contactless consumption activities was "because it is not restricted by time and place," which accounted for 42.6%. Other primary reasons included "burden of interpersonal contact due to the spread of COVID-19" (28.2%) and "convenient payment" (15.4%).

Among experienced users, 80.1% said they would continue contactless consumption activities even after the end of COVID-19, and among those without experience, the proportion willing to engage in contactless consumption activities (33.6%) was higher than those unwilling (22.0%), suggesting that contactless consumption will continue to be active after the pandemic ends.

Meanwhile, the "Consumer Attitude Index," representing the consumer sentiment of Seoul citizens in Q2 this year, rose by 3.3 points from the previous quarter to 86.1. A Consumer Attitude Index above 100 indicates a positive outlook on economic prospects and consumption expenditure, while below 100 indicates the opposite.

Accordingly, the Consumer Attitude Index is expected to be influenced by factors such as the slowdown in the spread of COVID-19, the effects of policies like emergency disaster relief funds, and the perceived recovery of the real economy.

Among the components of the Consumer Attitude Index, the "Current Living Conditions Index" fell by 1.3 points from the previous quarter to 72.4, whereas the "Future Living Conditions Index" rose by 5.9 points to 91.3. This is interpreted as an increase in households expecting improved living conditions due to anticipated slowdown in COVID-19 spread, changes in quarantine guidelines with social distancing in daily life, and the impact of economic stimulus policies such as emergency disaster relief funds.

The "Durable Goods Purchase Attitude Index" for Seoul citizens in Q2 decreased by 1.2 points from the previous quarter to 77.5. On the other hand, the "Housing Purchase Attitude Index," which had sharply declined in Q1, reversed to an increase thanks to inventory depletion and abundant liquidity, recording a significant rise of 20.7 points to 73.5 in Q2.

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