Seoul Citizens' 'Price Expectation Index' Hits Highest in 1 Year... Housing Purchase Drops 10 Points Rapidly

Seoul Institute Announces Q1 Seoul Consumer Sentiment Status
Consumer Attitude Index Rises for 4 Consecutive Quarters...Increase Rate Slows
Housing Purchase Attitude Index Declines Further...Price Expectation Index Surges 16 Points

Seoul Citizens' Perceived Economic Conditions in Q1 2022

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] While the perceived economic conditions of Seoul citizens have shown a slowdown in improvement, the inflation expectation index surged significantly, reaching its highest level in a year. The employment outlook index continued its upward trend for the second consecutive quarter, whereas the index related to home purchase sentiment plummeted by more than 10 points.

According to the Seoul Institute on the 28th, the Consumer Attitude Index, which reflects the perceived economic conditions of Seoul citizens, stood at 95.6 in the first quarter of this year, slightly rising by 0.3 points from the previous quarter, maintaining an upward trend for four consecutive quarters, though the rate of increase has slowed.

Among the components of the Consumer Attitude Index, the Current Economic Conditions Index fell by 5.9 points from the previous quarter to 53.8, but the Future Economic Conditions Index rose sharply by 10.5 points to 97.4. The main reasons cited for the expected improvement in Seoul’s economy one year from now were ‘recovery of daily life following the easing of COVID-19’ and ‘expectations after the presidential election.’ The Home Purchase Attitude Index, which turned downward in the fourth quarter of last year, continued its decline. The index dropped from 58.0 in the third quarter of last year to 56.7 in the fourth quarter, then plunged by 10.3 points from the previous quarter to 46.4.

Furthermore, inflation expectations rose at the largest rate in a year. The Inflation Expectation Index for the first quarter of this year was 149.6, up 16.7 points from the previous quarter, marking the highest level. Notably, households with an annual income below 24 million won saw a 26.5-point increase, the largest rise among all income groups. The Employment Outlook Index rose by 6.1 points from the previous quarter to 91.7, entering the 90-point range, while the Net Asset Index declined by 2.8 points.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Seoul Institute targeting a sample of 1,200 households in Seoul on delivery service usage found that over three-quarters of Seoul citizens had used food delivery services in the past three months. Particularly, even among those in their 60s, who had the least experience with food delivery services, 50.5% were found to use food delivery services 3 to 5 times per month.

The method of using food delivery services showed that ‘delivery platform apps/websites’ accounted for 86.3% (based on first and second choices), which is 2.5 times higher than ‘phone orders’ at 35.2%. Additionally, 63.6% of Seoul citizens responded that the delivery fee they are willing to pay is 10% or less of the total order amount. More than half (57.3%) answered that an appropriate delivery fee is ‘2,000 won or less,’ and the average maximum delivery fee they are willing to pay was found to be 3,608 won.

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