This undated file photo, provided by SSG.COM, shows the high-tech logistics center of the online shopping unit of retail conglomerate Shinsegae.
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retailers are competing over same-day delivery as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.
Demand for same-day delivery has been increasing among double-income households as it allows them to receive any delivery if ordered two or three hours before they get off work.
The hypermarket chain Lotte Mart reported Wednesday a two-fold increase in online sales last month among its 15 stores offering ‘Delivery Now’ services, which offers delivery within two hours of an order being made, compared to the previous year.
Demand for fresh and processed food rose, with sales up 111.3 percent and 93.9 percent, respectively.
An online shopping store GS Fresh Mall’s three-hour delivery service, available in some parts of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, is also growing in popularity.
Homeplus, another hypermarket chain operator, is planning to expand its same-day delivery service across the country for any orders placed before 2:20 p.m. every day.
“Customers who are busy in the morning because of work tend to use this service a lot, since it allows them to organize their groceries as they prepare food for after work,” the company explained.
CJ Olive Young’s ‘Today Dream’ service, making deliveries within three hours of an order being placed, was 13 times more popular between January 1 and December 21 last year compared to the previous year.
“Some of us were concerned when we first started the service in 2018 if customers would ever want their cosmetics products to be delivered so quickly. Now, it turns out that customers keep coming back,” the health and beauty store chain said.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
