Drive-through Shopping Gaining Traction as Social Distancing Measures Persist

GWANGJU, March 31 (Korea Bizwire) — With a steady number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continuing to be reported on a daily basis, drive-through shopping services at department stores that let customers pick up food and beverages without having to leave their vehicle are drawing attention as a new consumption trend geared at preventing the coronavirus from spreading.

For the first time in the local shopping industry, Lotte Department Store’s Gwangju branch launched a “drive-up and pick-up” service that had been serving about 13 customers per day on weekdays and 20 on the weekend as of March 26 after being rolled out on March 17.

Food was the most common purchase through the drive-pick service, amounting to 77 purchases. This was followed by 25 purchases of general goods and 19 of household goods.

The drive-pick service allows customers to choose items through the department store’s app, and then pick up the selected products in the department store’s parking lot at a time designated by the customer in advance.

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