These file photos, taken on Sept. 3, 2020, show deliverymen of South Korea’s major food delivery application operators. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — After expanding explosively during the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for food delivery apps is now declining steeply primarily due to the nation’s gradual shift to the “living with COVID-19″ policy.
According to the big data analytics firm Mobile Index, the number of Android smartphone users for the nation’s leading food delivery services — Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo — stood at 18.3 million in the Nov. 1-4 period when the “living with COVID-19’ policy began, down 22 percent from 22.3 million a month earlier.
After peaking at about 35 million in August, the number of users for the top three delivery service apps took a downturn.
The introduction of the so-called one-order-per-delivery system is now having a boomerang effect on the delivery platforms since the service has dramatically pushed up delivery costs.
Despite the decline in profitability, large delivery platforms are still competing to get the upper hand.
Baedal Minjok is offering a discount coupon targeting the year-end peak season, while Yogiyo recently introduced a discount subscription service in which 30,000 won (US$25.37) worth of discount coupons are offered in return for paying 9,900 won on a monthly basis.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
