Delivery services, shopping malls feel the heat as consumers shun the sun
As temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), more Koreans are ordering delivery, buying ready-made meals and lingering in air-conditioned malls instead of traveling.
[DO NOT REUSE] A delivery rider picks up a coffee order at a CU convenience store before heading out for delivery.CU
Kim Ju-yeon, an office worker from Eunpyeong District, northern Seoul, had planned to spend her summer vacation traveling to regional Korea this week. Instead, she decided to stay home because she felt traveling was impossible as a blistering heat wave pushed daytime temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
"Even if I turn off the air conditioner for just five minutes, the apartment heats up almost immediately,” Kim said. “I'm even reluctant to walk to the convenience store across the street. I've been ordering delivery for most of my meals."
Extreme heat is reshaping consumer behavior in Korea, with more people staying indoors, relying on food delivery and flocking to air-conditioned shopping malls as temperatures approach record highs.
"Delivery demand usually declines during the July-to-August vacation season because many people travel," an industry insider said. "This year, however, an unusually large number of people are staying home, driving a surge in delivery orders."
More consumers are even having convenience store purchases delivered despite stores likely being only a short walk away.
Major convenience store chains operate quick-commerce services that deliver online orders within an hour, with most deliveries made within a 1.5-kilometer (0.9-mile) radius.
Heat shimmers rise from a road in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on Aug. 4 as the highest-level heat wave emergency warning remains in effect.YONHAP
GS25 reported sales through its quick-commerce service nearly doubled, up 97.5 percent from a year earlier between Saturday and Aug. 3Monday.
YUN YOUNG
Another convenience store chain, CU, showed an even larger increase of 280.7 percent over the same period. Demand for ice and ice cream saw a significant surge as tropical nights continue.
Restaurant and cafe deliveries have also increased sharply.
Orders for popular local summer dishes such as samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), grilled eel and duck, along with bingsu (shaved ice desserts), kongguksu (cold bean-soup noodles) and naengmyeon (cold noodles), posted double-digit growth between July 25 and Sunday compared with a month earlier, according to food delivery app Baedal Minjok, also known as Baemin.
A delivery rider surnamed Lee said even short-distance deliveries have become much more common. "Orders within 3 kilometers have increased significantly," Lee said. "The heat rising from the asphalt is intense, but delivery requests keep coming in, so we have no choice but to keep riding."
Regional governments and delivery platforms have expanded rest areas for delivery riders.
Online grocery shoppers are also increasingly purchasing ready-made meal products that require little preparation.
Between July 25 and Sunday, orders through online grocery platform SSG.com's delivery service rose 15 percent from a year earlier. Sales of frozen and refrigerated ready-made meals increased 44 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
Customers shop at a Lotte Department Store in Jung District, central Seoul, on Aug. 2.YONHAP
Air-conditioned shopping malls are also attracting more visitors seeking relief from the heat.
Rather than making quick shopping trips, more consumers are spending extended periods at malls, combining shopping, dining and leisure in a single location.
Visitor numbers at Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores rose 30 percent, 14 percent and 17 percent, respectively, between July 25 and Monday from the previous week. Sales at their major stores also recorded double-digit growth.
During the same period, food and beverage sales at the three department store chains increased 40 percent, 20 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
Department stores are responding by opening more pop-up stores and expanding interactive attractions to encourage customers to stay longer.
"Temperature has now become one of the key variables shaping consumer spending," Lee Hong-ju, a professor of consumer economics at Sookmyung Women's University, said.
"As extreme heat becomes more normal, department stores and shopping malls will increasingly focus on space marketing that encourages customers to spend more time inside, while retailers will intensify competition over rapid delivery services such as quick commerce."
BY LIM SUN-YOUNG [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
