CONVENIENCE STORES' COMPETITION FOR DELIVERY SERVICES RISES AMID NON-CONTACT TREND

Convenience store operators in South Korea are racing to beef up delivery services as a rise in the number of one- person households(1인 가정) and the new coronavirus outbreak have raised demand for door-to-door services. Having an upper hand over major discount stores in terms of consumer accessibility, convenient stores are tapping(톡톡 두드리다) delivery services as an additional sales channel amid(~의 가운데에) the non-contact trend.

In March, BGF Retail also partnered with Naver, the operator of the country's No. 1 internet portal, to accelerate delivery services. In the March-May period, when the country's new virus cases spiked, the number of such deliveries jumped nearly 60 percent from a year earlier. "As more companies adopted remote working systems amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people appeared to use our delivery service as they stayed at home longer," said an official at BGF Retail.

Non-face-to-face consumption has become a trend in South Korea, as the virus outbreak has prompted more people to use online shopping to avoid infection risks. A rise in the number of one-person households has also boosted demand for food purchases at convenience stores, as people can eat relatively(비교적) good full meals at affordable prices.

Last year, the retail business arm of GS Group launched delivery service at around 10 outlets on the Yogiyo platform before starting to provide full services at around 1,200 stores across the nation in March. Smaller rivals 7-Eleven and E-Mart 24 have jumped on the bandwagon to deliver food and daily necessities. "When I worked at home at the height of the pandemic, I ordered snacks several times. A delivery fee appears reasonable, considering I don't have to put on clothes and a facial mask and walk to a convenience store," said a 31-year-old man, surnamed Kang.