A worker at a restaurant in central Seoul makes boxed lunches to be delivered on Aug. 31, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Food delivery app sales have spiked in proportion to the overall restaurant industry in the last two years with the spread of the contactless mode of consumption in the pandemic era, a report said Monday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs reported that according to consumption data provided by Shinhan Card, the restaurant industry generated 101.5 trillion won (US$85 billion) in sales last year, up by 6.3 percent from the previous year, but 6.6 percent less than 2019, prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Food delivery apps brought in 15.6 trillion won, accounting for a whopping 15.3 percent of all sales, jumping by a factor of 4.1 in the last two years.
Delivery app sales jumped from 4 trillion won in 2019 and 7.6 trillion won in 2020 to surpass the 15-trillion-won hurdle last year.
Restaurant owners, however, are far from fully enjoying the profits raised by food delivery apps, since they have to pay exorbitant fees for sales commissions and advertisement.
In the August to October period last year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups conducted a survey of 300 restaurant owners that use food delivery apps, 69.3 percent of whom said delivery charges were too expensive.
Restaurant owners had to pay an average of 3,394 won per delivery.
The National Assembly has been discussing new legislation on fair regulation of online platforms for more than 12 months, but has yet to come up with a decision.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
