Incheon Yeonsu-gu Working-Age Population Uses 87% Local Currency... Sales Reach 634 Billion KRW

405 Billion Won Invested in Yeonsu e-Eum Operating Expenses... 16 Times Ripple Effect Compared to Fiscal Expenditure
1 in 5 People Use HyeTaePlus Affiliate Stores at Least Once a Month
Up to 20-24% Discount and Cashback in Incheon... Youth Are the Main Users

Yeonsu e-eum Card

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] It was revealed that 87.7% of the working-age population residing in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, used the local currency card 'Yeonsu e-eum' last year.

Additionally, a budget of 40.5 billion KRW, including national and city funds, was invested to operate Yeonsu e-eum, generating sales of 634 billion KRW over the year, resulting in a ripple effect 16 times greater than the fiscal expenditure.

According to Yeonsu-gu on the 10th, an analysis of Incheon City's '2020 Incheon Social Indicator Survey' and internal statistics showed that out of approximately 289,000 working-age residents aged 15-64 in Yeonsu-gu last year, about 253,400 used Yeonsu e-eum. On average, each household used 1.66 Yeonsu e-eum cards.

Also, 20.6% of Yeonsu residents used Yeonsu e-eum Benefit Plus affiliated stores at least once a month, and the satisfaction rate was 57%, significantly exceeding the dissatisfaction rate of 10.4%.

Yeonsu e-eum Benefit Plus is a program where affiliated stores offer a 3-7% upfront discount on payment amounts, which is combined with Incheon City's basic 10% cashback, Yeonsu-gu's existing 2%, and a 5% COVID-19 special cashback, totaling 7%, returned to users as cashback.

Among users who visited Benefit Plus affiliated stores at least once a month, those in their 40s accounted for the highest at 29.3%, followed by those in their 30s at 29.2%, 20s at 19.9%, and 50s at 18.6%.

By occupation, professional managers were the largest group at 43.3%, followed by office workers at 24.3%, service and sales workers at 20.9%, and homemakers at 20.1% who visited Yeonsu e-eum Benefit Plus affiliated stores.

However, among reasons for not using Benefit Plus affiliated stores, 47.5% cited 'too few affiliated stores,' 24.7% said 'low local consumption performance,' and 20.9% mentioned 'low accumulation point rates,' indicating that continuous policy improvements for Benefit Plus are necessary.

Since April last year, Yeonsu-gu has been providing users with the highest discount and cashback rates in Incheon, ranging from 20% to 24%, by adding a 5% COVID-19 special cashback to the existing Yeonsu e-eum Benefit Plus discount to support small business owners struggling due to COVID-19.

By the end of last year, the ninth month of recruiting Benefit Plus affiliated stores, about 1,300 stores were secured and operated, with plans to increase the number of affiliated stores to around 2,000 by the end of the year.

In particular, Yeonsu-gu plans to significantly enhance additional benefits for affiliated stores by utilizing the public delivery app 'Baedal e-eum,' which charges no intermediary fees or advertising fees, and by creating Benefit Plus specialized streets in four commercial districts.

Furthermore, Yeonsu-gu intends to revitalize local communities through Yeonsu e-eum by continuously expanding platform value-sharing services such as Yeonsu E Donation, Yeonsu E Funding, and Yeonsu E Mall to support neighborhood commercial districts.

This survey was conducted separately through district-specific questions in the '2020 Incheon Social Indicator Survey,' which targeted 6,000 sample households and about 12,000 household members aged 13 and older in Incheon City from November to December last year.

A Yeonsu-gu official stated, "This year, Yeonsu e-eum plans to expand direct support for self-employed and small business owners beyond user cashback-centered support," adding, "Above all, we will focus on creating an atmosphere that can maximize the aggregate benefits of Benefit Plus affiliated stores."

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