[Going to the COVID-19 Site] Let's Go! To the Large Mart?... People Driven by Level 3 Anxiety

Long Lines at Checkout Counters... Came to Prepare for COVID-19 but Faced Even Denser Queues
Customers Turn Away Due to Sold-Out Food and Daily Necessities
Initially Struggled, but Large Mart Sales Show Strong Performance

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] “Why are you buying so much?”, “You never know.”

On the 19th (Saturday) at around 3:30 PM at Emart Traders Hanam branch in Sinjang-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do, a couple put three boxes of ramen into their cart. The ramen sales corner was already showing many empty shelves. Another customer entering with a cart full of various daily necessities said to their group, “This is the hoarding timing.” The ramen sales corner was crowded with customers aware of the social distancing level 3 upgrade.

The situation in the food section was no different. Although it was midday, many shelves in the frozen food section, such as dumplings and grilled short rib patties, were empty. Yoon (56), who visits here about once every two weeks for grocery shopping, said, “I didn’t know what would happen, so I just bought more than usual.”

With the number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) remaining in the 1,000s for five consecutive days and the need to raise social distancing levels emerging, large supermarkets were crowded last weekend. This was due to anxiety that large supermarkets would be inaccessible if social distancing was raised to level 3. However, looking at the long lines tightly packed at the checkout counters, a dangerous scene unfolded where social distancing was ironically ignored in the supermarkets visited in preparation for distancing.

On the 19th, at Emart Traders Hanam branch, a customer filled a cart with ready-to-eat meals.

Long lines densely packed from parking lot to checkout counters

Emart Traders Hanam branch was packed with people from the entrance connected to the basement level 2 parking lot all the way to the checkout counters. It was hard to find empty spots in the basement level 1 and 2 parking lots, and even in basement level 3, one had to go deep inside the parking lot to find a place to park. The entrance was crowded with customers trying to spray disinfectant on their hands and cart handles.

All 19 checkout counters had long lines of customers who had finished shopping. Customers wearing hygiene gloves provided by the mart were also noticeable. Some customers expressed discomfort but generally seemed to understand. Park (36), who visited Hanam branch with family, said, “When I came in and saw the checkout counters, I was already worried about paying,” adding, “If it is raised to level 3, we will have to buy daily necessities at convenience stores, but naturally, people think it’s better to buy them in advance at the mart.” Kim (48), met in front of the vegetable section at Hanam branch, said, “It feels like there are more people than usual, maybe because everyone thinks similarly,” and hurriedly said, “I need to finish shopping quickly and leave.”

Refrigerated food section at Emart Traders Wolgye branch. As evening approached, empty shelves appeared frequently in the grocery section.

Empty shelves everywhere... “Uncomfortable but understandable”

Other supermarkets were no different. Citizens’ footsteps were mostly concentrated in the grocery section. At 8:30 PM, near closing time, empty shelves were easily found in the frozen food and ready-to-eat food sections at Emart Traders Wolgye branch. The refrigerators displaying milk were also nearly empty, with only a few products left. Lee (53), who visited Wolgye branch after dinner, said, “I didn’t expect so many people to come,” adding, “I think I’ll have to shop again at the neighborhood mart tomorrow.”

In the early stages of COVID-19, large supermarkets were gloomy, but as the situation prolonged, it has rather become a boon. According to the provisional performance announced recently by Emart, total sales of Emart Traders in November this year reached 227.6 billion KRW, a 14.4% increase compared to the same period last year. Total sales from January to November this year increased by 22.8% compared to the same period last year.

However, if social distancing is raised to level 3 and operations are suspended, damage is inevitable. A large supermarket official said, “Large supermarkets are a major distribution channel where consumers can purchase necessary daily necessities,” adding, “Online delivery capacity is limited, which may cause delays, and convenience stores and neighborhood supermarkets have limited product ranges, which may cause inconvenience to consumers.” The official added, “In foreign countries that had shutdowns, large supermarkets were allowed to operate focusing on daily necessities,” and said, “We expect that if the level is raised to 3 here, a similar approach will be taken.”

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