A ‘kid’s cafe’ (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – As the number of dual-income households increases in South Korea, more grandparents are taking on child care responsibilities, leading to a surge in their use of meal kit delivery services and kids’ cafes, according to new data.
Shinhan Card’s Big Data Research Institute reported on June 4 that the proportion of customers aged 60 and over using its affiliated meal kit delivery franchises grew from 10.1% in 2019 to 14.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
During this period, the number of meal kit delivery franchises affiliated with Shinhan Card increased by 27%, while transaction volume rose 22% and sales climbed 37%.
While the share of users in their 20s and 30s dropped from 44.4% to 39.7%, and those in their 40s declined from 26.8% to 25.5%, the proportion of customers in their 50s increased from 18.7% to 20.7%, and those aged 60 and above grew from 10.1% to 14.1%.
Transactions by customers aged 60 and over at kids’ cafes surged 80% from January to September 2023 compared to the same period in 2019.
“As family roles are being redefined, a new family model is emerging where members live separately but collaborate on child care and household chores,” Shinhan Card explained. “This includes people in their 60s, and all age groups seem to be adopting an efficient approach of modularizing home-cooked meals by purchasing pre-made dishes.”
An analysis by Shinhan Card using social media and big data platforms revealed that mentions of “family” doubled in 2023 compared to 2015. The share of positive associations like “exciting” and “happy” when describing time spent with family increased from 45.3% in 2019 to 54.5% in 2023, replacing negative expressions like “regretful” or “disappointed.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
