Struggling with Salary, Taking 1.5 Jobs... 50,000 Convenience Store Delivery Workers on Foot

'Extra Income Boost' GS25 Foot Delivery Reaches 40,000 in Two Months
70% Male... 36% Aged 30-40, 28%
CU Hits 15,000 in One Month
Flexible Work, COVID Impact Lead Office Workers to Side Jobs Before and After Commute
No Time Limits and Contactless Popularity

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Office worker Kim Jin-su (31, pseudonym) has been working part-time delivering on foot from a convenience store near his home after work since last month. As the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged, his company institutionalized a four-day workweek. As a result, his salary was reduced to about 80% of the usual amount. The income he earns from the convenience store part-time job is about 800,000 KRW per month. Kim said, "Since I had more free time, I initially started walking deliveries as exercise, but it has become a decent side income," adding, "Perhaps because it’s an easy way to earn money, the competition for calls has become fiercer than when I first started."

Men in their 30s and 40s Taking on Part-Time Jobs

According to the convenience store industry on the 6th, the total number of foot delivery workers registered with GS25 and CU services has reached 55,000. After the introduction of the 52-hour workweek system, flexible working hours were implemented, and due to the impact of COVID-19, companies adjusted working hours to reduce costs (wages), leading to an increase in people trying to earn some extra money during their free time.

GS25 introduced the foot delivery service "Our Neighborhood Delivery" in August. The number of delivery workers registered with Our Neighborhood Delivery surpassed 40,000 in just over two months. GS25’s internal target for this year was 10,000. This was an unexpected achievement. Looking at the gender composition, men account for 70% of the total. By age group, those in their 30s and 40s make up 36.2% and 27.8%, respectively. Next are those in their 20s (19.3%), 50s (8.4%), 60s (5.5%), and teens (2.8%). Contrary to initial expectations that full-time housewives or elderly people looking for daytime work would be the majority, most are men in their 30s and 40s. Convenience store delivery demand is concentrated in the early morning and late night, so office workers take on part-time jobs before going to work or after returning home.

CU, which started the service last month in partnership with MG Playing, recruited 15,000 delivery workers within a month. Most are in their 20s (35.5%), 30s (25.2%), and 40s (24.5%). A CU official explained, "Foot deliveries account for nearly 30% of all deliveries," adding, "We expect the proportion of foot deliveries to exceed 50% next year."

Popularity of Side Jobs Due to 52-Hour Workweek and COVID-19

The rapid increase in convenience store foot delivery workers is due to more people seeking additional income outside their main jobs. According to a survey conducted by AlbaCall, operated by the job portal Incruit, from May 21 to 28 among 1,599 respondents who had job-seeking experience for part-time work after the COVID-19 outbreak, 13.5% said they are already working side jobs. Another 35.7% said they are considering side jobs. Among office workers, 22.1% said they are already working side jobs. One in five cited "decreased income from their main job" as the reason for side jobs. This is nearly double the scale compared to last year. A convenience store official explained, "With the rise in minimum wage, part-time job opportunities have decreased, but above all, young people prefer it because they can choose to work flexibly according to their own time."

Another factor driving the popularity of convenience store foot delivery is that workers can choose their working hours according to their schedules and the work is conducted contactlessly. The delivery fee per foot delivery is around 2,800 to 3,200 KRW. Working 2 to 3 hours in the morning or afternoon can earn 300,000 to 500,000 KRW per month. If one utilizes peak times well, earnings of 800,000 to 1,000,000 KRW are possible. Lee Seong-ho (38, pseudonym), an office worker near Mapo, Seoul, said, "If I target the afternoon peak time, I can earn 100,000 KRW a day," adding, "I am very satisfied with the advantage of being able to earn money on the dates and times I want without time constraints."

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