With the Resurgence of COVID-19, Wallets Open for Masks and Delivery Food

Tmon, Mask Sales Increase 8 Times
552,000 Delivery Orders Completed by Barogo on the 23rd

Photo by Getty Images Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) intensifies again, sales of essential quarantine supplies such as masks and hand sanitizers are increasing. With concerns about COVID-19 infection, social distancing discouraging outings, and the reappearance of 'homebodies' who stay at home longer due to remote work, orders for delivery food have also surged. Amid the contraction of consumption due to the resurgence of COVID-19, spending on mask purchases and food delivery orders is notably increasing.

According to e-commerce company TMON on the 25th, mask sales from the 15th to the 22nd increased eightfold compared to the same period from the 1st to the 8th in the first week of August. During the same period, hand sanitizer sales also increased twelvefold. At the beginning of this month, the number of confirmed cases remained below 50, but after surpassing 100 on the 13th and exceeding 200 on the 15th, news of the positive COVID-19 cases led to a continuous line of purchases for masks and hand sanitizers in preparation for the resurgence. Since then, with daily confirmed cases exceeding 300 from the 20th, the buying enthusiasm appears to have intensified.

In particular, on the morning of the 18th, 350,000 masks were sold in TMON’s time-limited store '10 Minute Attack' alone. They sold KF94 and KF80 certified masks at special prices for 10 minutes, and the mask demand that had been waiting over the weekend poured in, resulting in about 6,900 orders within 10 minutes. KF94 masks sold out within one minute, and the total sales of additional KF94 and KF80 masks during the 10 minutes reached 350,000 units. The sales revenue for those 10 minutes in the morning was estimated at 190 million KRW.

The impact of the COVID-19 resurgence was immediately reflected in the volume of food delivery orders. As confirmed cases rapidly increased, the atmosphere of avoiding going out or dining out was recreated, and consequently, the number of food delivery tasks jumped significantly. According to Barogo, a delivery agency with about 45,000 registered delivery workers (riders), the number of delivery tasks on Sunday the 23rd was 552,000, a 16% increase compared to the same period the previous week. The total delivery tasks for the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd reached 1,085,000, which is an 11.1% increase compared to the weekend of the 15th and 16th, which included Liberation Day.

Barogo recorded 1,054,000 delivery tasks over three days from the 10th to the 12th, which increased by 15.2% to 1,214,000 tasks from the 17th to the 19th. On the temporary holiday of the 17th, delivery tasks reached 445,000, a 24.6% increase compared to the previous week. On the 23rd, when 397 confirmed cases were announced the day before, delivery tasks reached 552,000, which is 24% higher than that. This indicates that delivery tasks are continuously increasing in proportion to the spread of COVID-19. A Barogo official said, "Due to the resurgence of COVID-19, delivery tasks exceeded one million last weekend, causing a surge in deliveries," and added, "Since delivery food is responsible for people's meals, we ask customers to wear masks when receiving delivery food and riders to wear masks throughout the entire delivery process for everyone's health."

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