COVID-19 Resurgence... Surge in CU Delivery Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Convenience store delivery has become busier due to the second pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 30th, CU analyzed delivery service usage trends from the 17th to the 28th of this month, when the resurgence of COVID-19 began, and found that the number of delivery orders increased by 76.4% compared to the same period last month. Due to factors such as remote work, weekday usage increased by 92.9% compared to the previous month, showing a much higher growth rate than the 60.4% increase on weekends.

In particular, since the outbreak of COVID-19, the 24-hour delivery service of convenience stores has gradually gained word of mouth, and sales from delivery services between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day jumped by 32.7% compared to the same period last month at stores offering the service. Due to the second pandemic, the number of people staying home and refraining from going out has greatly increased, causing a surge in demand for convenience store delivery services again.

Last August, the popular delivery items were snacks, beverages, and ready meals in that order, but this year, the list has changed significantly to beverages, ready meals (HMR), side dishes, bottled water, and ingredients. Customers who previously used delivery services to order urgently needed or small quantities of products are now using convenience store delivery to handle simple grocery shopping as well.

Delivery-exclusive products that CU offers monthly with different compositions based on customer purchase data are also popular.

This month, CU launched six delivery-exclusive sets such as the Maebushim Challenge Set and CU Banjeom Set, themed around tropical nights and health, which received good reviews from customers for their solid composition and reasonable prices, resulting in about a 45% increase in sales compared to the previous month.

Riding on this popularity, CU plans to introduce seven delivery-exclusive sets, including the ‘Favorite Snack All-in-One Set’ composed of Giant Tteokbokki, Giant Sundae, and Tuna Mayo Triangle Kimbap; the ‘Perfect Combo Chicken Set’ combining chicken drumstick fries, boneless chicken skewers, and carbonated drinks; and the ‘Healthy Beginner Set’ including chicken breast, smoked eggs, and bananas.

Additionally, as social distancing measures equivalent to level 2.5 have been implemented mainly in the metropolitan area due to the spread of COVID-19, CU expects demand for delivery services to increase further and will expand the number of deliverable items to about 800, doubling the previous number.

Starting next month, CU will launch ice cream delivery services at some metropolitan area stores and significantly expand its 24-hour delivery service. During September, CU will also hold a 3,000 won discount event for customers purchasing over 20,000 won worth of products through CU delivery service on Yogiyo. Delivery fees will be free for purchases over 20,000 won.

Jo Sung-hae, head of BGF Retail’s e-commerce team, said, “With the recent resurgence of COVID-19, people are refraining from going out and spending more time at home, leading to a rapid increase in delivery demand from convenience stores nearby. We will continue to improve the quality of our services to alleviate the inconveniences caused by social distancing for our customers.”

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