COVID-19 Changed Consumption Patterns... Convenience Stores Focus on 'Home' Over 'Taste', Lunch Also Ordered via Delivery Apps

Shinhan Card, 2020 Major Retail Sector Spending Big Data Analysis
Weekend Large Mart Usage Patterns Dispersed to Morning Hours
Convenience Store Usage Keyword: 'Home'
Increase in Delivery App Usage During Weekday Lunch Hours

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Due to the impact of COVID-19, the time periods during which consumers use retail sectors such as large supermarkets and convenience stores have changed. Visits to large supermarkets increased in the morning, while convenience store consumption rose in the early evening hours.

Shinhan Card announced on the 3rd that an analysis of major retail sector spending in 2019 and 2020 revealed such changes in usage time by sector.

First, looking at the proportion of spending by time period on weekends at large supermarkets, the share of spending between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. was 22.9% and 33.5% respectively in 2019, but in 2020, it shifted to 25.8% and 29.6%, indicating an increase in morning usage and a decrease in the evening. This is analyzed as more people visiting supermarkets in the morning, when there are relatively fewer people, due to the spread of COVID-19.

On the other hand, convenience stores saw a 0.5 percentage point decrease in spending from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., which overlaps with commuting hours, and a 2.2 percentage point increase from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Spending between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. also decreased by 2.1 percentage points. Related keywords on SNS associated with convenience stores (as of December) ranked 'taste' first, 'home' second, 'beer' twelfth, and 'dinner' twentieth in 2019. In 2020, 'home' overtook 'taste' to become first, while 'beer' and 'dinner' rose to sixth and seventh respectively. This suggests that while morning purchases decreased due to remote work, consumers increasingly bought beer or light dinner items at convenience stores, leading to increased consumption in the early evening hours.

The weekday usage pattern of delivery apps also showed a different trend from before. Although the highest number of transactions still occurred during the evening hours from 5 p.m. to midnight, the share of payments between 9 p.m. and midnight, which can be assumed to be for late-night snacks, decreased by 3.6 percentage points. Conversely, spending between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the lunch period, increased by 3.4 percentage points, indicating that more people are opting for delivery food rather than going out for lunch.

In particular, the proportion of payments under 10,000 won during weekday lunch hours decreased from 17% in 2019 to 9% in 2020, while payments exceeding 20,000 won increased by 8 percentage points. Additionally, the share of payments by people in their 20s dropped from 44% to 36%, whereas those aged 40 and above rose from 19% to 28%. Previously, younger people tended to order delivery food alone or in pairs, but in 2020, it can be interpreted that the 40s and 50s age group increasingly used delivery for lunch with family during remote work or with colleagues at the office.

A Shinhan Card official said, "It is interesting that consumer behavior subtly changes by time period even within the same industry due to COVID-19," adding, "Based on the industry's best big data capabilities, Shinhan Card will continue to actively respond to changing consumer behaviors and provide the best service to customers."

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