Routine Online Food Purchases... "Consumer Damages Also Increased"

Received Applications for Quality-Related Victim Relief
49 Cases Last Year, Twice the Number in 2020
Main Cause: Kinship Confusion During Delivery Process

Mr. A bought chicken breast from an online site in early 2021 and fed it to his young child, which led to a hospital visit. After boiling the chicken breast in boiling water, it tasted sour, which eventually caused food poisoning. Mr. A's child complained of abdominal pain and experienced multiple episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, requiring visits to a nearby clinic. However, the symptoms did not completely disappear. It was only after visiting a Korean medicine clinic the next day for additional treatment that the symptoms subsided. The online site claimed that the product might have deteriorated during the distribution process, but Mr. A demanded compensation for medical expenses and consolation money, as the chicken breast consumption caused harm.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online food purchases became routine, but consumer damages related to issues such as the delivery of spoiled products have also surged.

Consumer Damages Surge as Online Food Purchases Increase

As food transactions through online platforms have become routine, related consumer damages due to quality issues have also sharply increased. According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 12th, there were a total of 49 damage relief applications for major foods such as meat, fruit, and bread ordered online last year, marking a 48% increase compared to the previous year. A detailed look at 102 related damage relief applications received from 2020 to last year shows that nearly half of the cases, 58, involved fruit products. This was followed by meat (30 cases) and bread and confectionery (14 cases).

This trend is interpreted as a result of the rapid increase in online food purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Statistics Korea and the distribution industry, the online food shopping transaction amount last year was 26.6438 trillion KRW, a 15.9% (3.8559 trillion KRW) increase from 24.2949 trillion KRW in 2021. The online food shopping transaction amount, which was around 7.997 trillion KRW in 2017, exceeded 10 trillion KRW the following year and surged to 19.679 trillion KRW in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, a 46.3% increase from 13.447 trillion KRW the previous year. In 2021, it increased by more than 20%, approaching 25 trillion KRW. Over the past five years, online food shopping transactions have grown by 252%.

Most Damages Occur During Distribution and Delivery Processes

The increase in online food purchases is largely because the psychological barrier that food must be seen before purchase has effectively disappeared. Distribution companies have alleviated consumer doubts about online food purchases through fast delivery and quality control. However, the steady increase in quality-related damage cases suggests that consumer skepticism about online food purchases has not been completely erased.

Most quality-related consumer damage cases involving online food purchases occur during the distribution process by companies. Although the food logistics system has developed alongside the increase in online orders, human errors still exist. For example, a major corporation’s online shopping mall recently faced backlash after delivering moldy bread that was two months past its expiration date. The company explained it was a "mistake during the delivery process," but controversy among consumers has not easily subsided.

Consumer damages also occur due to delivery delays. The Consumer Agency received a damage relief application last April stating that rice cakes purchased from an online shopping mall arrived spoiled after four days. The applicant requested a refund, but the shopping mall claimed no fault, citing prior notice of delivery delays, leading to the damage relief application.

"Offline Still Superior in Terms of Quality"

Mr. B also knocked on the Consumer Agency’s door after his request to return oranges ordered from an online mall was rejected. In April last year, he purchased a box of 56 high-sugar-content oranges (standard 17kg per box) from the mall, but when he opened the box the next day, it was filled only with moldy oranges. Mr. B called to complain and requested a return, but was told, "Once the box is opened, compensation is difficult."

Many damage relief applications received by the Consumer Agency involve cases where refunds or returns were denied. Considering that most distribution companies immediately provide refunds and compensation once they recognize the delivery of spoiled food, the actual number of damage cases is presumed to be much higher.

Experts agree that despite advancements in online logistics systems, offline purchases still have an edge in terms of quality. Professor Jeong Yeonseung of Dankook University’s Department of Business Administration said, "At a certain level of online malls, it is possible to analyze the volume of goods, meaning they do not ship items that have been in stock for a long time due to high order volumes," but added, "Ultimately, even though logistics systems have greatly improved, there is inevitably a difference between buying food by seeing it in person and waiting to receive it."

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