Most Koreans obtain information about food by searching on web portals (69.3%), followed by visiting blogs or Internet communities (8.5%), collecting information through SNS postings (7.7%), visiting food rating sites (7.2%) and visiting restaurants’ homepages (6.5%). (image: Kobiz Media / Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The ubiquity of mobile devices including smartphones has contributed to changes in the way Koreans make menu choices when they eat out, as more and more Koreans are searching for food information online.
According to a recent survey on “eating out trends in 2014” jointly conducted by the Korea Foodservice Industry Association and the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute, which interviewed 3,000 adults, 60.8 percent of Koreans “collect food information on the Internet through their mobile devices.”
The figure increased drastically from 33.6 percent in 2012 and 53.5 percent in 2013, hinting that Koreans are selecting restaurants based on information found through research on their smart devices.
In addition, 33.0 percent of Koreans view the information of their destination restaurant through SNS, a whopping increase from 4.7 percent in 2012 and 8.1 percent in 2013. As such, customer ratings for restaurants on SNS such as Facebook can play a significant role in restaurant choice.
Most Koreans obtain information about food by searching on web portals (69.3%), followed by visiting blogs or Internet communities (8.5%), collecting information through SNS postings (7.7%), visiting food rating sites (7.2%) and visiting restaurants’ homepages (6.5%).
Meanwhile, 18.2 percent of the respondents replied that they have experience using food delivery services such as Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo and Baedaltong, which have courted controversy over their high service fees.
Almost half of them used the apps since it is easy to decide which food to order, while others choose the services because of easy payment, discounts or coupons, credibility and short delivery times.
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
