The Contactless Food Culture Now Part of Daily Life... Baemin Takeout Orders Surpass 100,000

Since Last November, Registered Vendors Increased 5 Times After Starting with Baemin Order
Delivery Also Minimizes Face-to-Face by Direct Payment in App

#Office worker Choi Young-hyun (alias) these days often uses a service that allows him to order food for takeout through delivery applications (apps) on his way home from work. The number of restaurants offering takeout services has greatly increased, and he is deeply enjoying the fun of choosing different menus every day. Since he only needs to pick up the packaged food at the restaurant after completing the order and payment on the app before going home, face-to-face contact can be minimized.

#Kim Jeong-gi (alias), who works from home, mainly relies on delivery food for lunch. Recently, the variety of menus available for delivery has greatly expanded to the point where almost no menu is unavailable for delivery, and by paying directly through the delivery app, contactless delivery without meeting the delivery person (rider) is possible. From ordering the food to picking it up after the rider leaves it at the door, Kim does not encounter anyone.

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has established a contactless food culture. Delivery apps have activated functions where ordering and payment are done contactlessly, and services where customers order in advance and pick up packaged food are also expanding their scope.

According to Woowa Brothers, the company operating 'Baedal Minjok' (Baemin), as of the 17th, the number of registered stores offering the 'takeout order' service?where customers order and pay in advance and then visit the store to receive food?has exceeded 100,000. When the contactless ordering and payment service 'Baemin Order' was first introduced in November last year, the number of registered stores was about 19,000, but it surpassed 50,000 in March and recently has been available in more than 100,000 restaurants. Considering that Woowa Brothers' goal for this year was to increase the number of stores using Baemin Order to 100,000, this target was achieved ahead of schedule.

The industry analyzes that the growth rate accelerated after the COVID-19 spread intensified this year. Woowa Brothers explained that the cumulative number of orders and transaction amounts have already exceeded 5 million orders and 80 billion KRW by the end of June, showing a steep increase. In particular, after the implementation of social distancing level 2.5 in the metropolitan area on the 31st of last month, Woowa Brothers actively promoted the service by changing the name of 'Baemin Order' to the more intuitive 'Takeout Order,' emphasizing its function to minimize face-to-face contact. In Takeout Order, even when orders are placed, there is no intermediary commission, ensuring maximum profit for restaurants. Baemin also decided to fully support the approximately 3% payment fees that restaurants have to pay to card companies and payment gateway (PG) companies for payments made through Takeout Order until the end of the year.

The increase in direct payment through the app when ordering delivery food, reducing face-to-face payment on-site, is also evidence of the spread of contactless food culture. As of the end of last month, the proportion of 'instant payment' orders?where customers pay at the time of ordering?accounted for 94.74% of all orders on Baemin. The instant payment ratio first exceeded 90% in August last year, rose to the 93% range in March after the first domestic COVID-19 case was confirmed on January 20 (91.17%), and recently has approached 95%. Instant payment is included in recommended measures to prevent COVID-19 spread as it eliminates the process of exchanging cards between riders and customers. A Woowa Brothers official emphasized, "We are enhancing the service to meet the trend of contactless consumption and customers' needs to reduce the time and procedures required for ordering and payment, thereby improving customer convenience."