In the COVID era, digital consumption such as delivery, content, and simple payments surges among middle-aged and older adults

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[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] It has been revealed that digital consumption such as delivery, content, and simple payment among middle-aged and older adults aged 40 and above has significantly increased through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute announced on the 21st that by analyzing its customers' consumption data and conducting a multidimensional analysis of related consumption changes according to age and region due to the COVID-19 environment and acceleration of the digital economy, such results were found.

The data analysis targets include the entire online industry and representative digital consumption sectors such as delivery applications, fresh food malls, online video services (OTT), music streaming, and simple payment services, comparing figures from 2019 and 2021.

First, looking at the annual usage trends of the entire online industry, the year-over-year usage growth rates from 2019 to 2021 were 14%, 23%, and 22%, respectively, showing steady growth. Comparing the usage growth rates by age group from 2019 to 2021, those in their 20s increased by 45%, 30s by 63%, 40s by 84%, 50s by 110%, and 60 and above by 142%, indicating a significant increase in usage among the 40 and older age group, which was previously perceived as digitally marginalized.

The usage share of delivery and fresh food delivery services also noticeably increased among the 40s and 50s age groups during the same period. For delivery apps, the usage share of those in their 20s decreased from 41% to 30%, and those in their 30s from 39% to 37%, whereas the 40s increased from 15% to 24%, and those aged 50 and above rose from 5% to 9%.

The usage share of fresh food malls also showed a decrease for those in their 20s from 11% to 10%, and 30s from 40% to 32%, while the 40s increased from 35% to 37%, and those aged 50 and above rose from 14% to 21%. The research institute attributes this increase in middle-aged and older adults' usage to more frequent home dining due to difficulties in eating out caused by COVID-19.

During the same period, the regional usage share of delivery apps showed an increase in the metropolitan area from 53% to 55%, reflecting the characteristic of delivery apps launching new services mainly in large cities. For fresh food malls, the non-metropolitan usage share increased from 20% to 22%, indicating an expansion of service coverage areas.

Regarding digital content such as OTT and music streaming services, unlike the past when usage was overwhelmingly dominant among those in their 20s, usage by other generations has increased, making these services more universal. The usage share of OTT and music streaming among those in their 20s decreased from 44% to 34% and 44% to 37%, respectively, while those in their 30s increased from 29% to 31% and remained at 29%, those in their 40s rose from 18% to 22% and 20% to 22%, and those aged 50 and above increased from 9% to 13% and 7% to 11%. Regionally, the non-metropolitan OTT usage share increased from 38% to 41%, and music streaming usage share rose from 41% to 42%.

In the case of simple payment, closely related to e-commerce and mobile shopping, the share of middle-aged and older adults also increased. Examining changes in usage share, those in their 20s decreased from 34% to 29%, and those in their 30s from 35% to 34%, while those in their 40s increased from 22% to 24%, and those aged 50 and above rose from 9% to 13%. This is interpreted as middle-aged and older adults becoming more proficient with digital devices, providing more opportunities to experience the convenience of simple payment.

Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute stated, "Through this data analysis, we were able to understand in more detail how much our consumption behavior has changed due to COVID-19 and the acceleration of the digital economy," adding, "We will continue to discover various insights through consumption behavior analysis and continuously create differentiated customer services in the future."

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