[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Non-face-to-face service companies are gaining attention amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The national messenger Kakao recently saw its stock price triple, while services in various fields have posted unprecedented strong performances. Especially, with restrictions on indoor operations of offline restaurants and cafes and the increase of 'Jipkokjok' (people staying at home), the food delivery market is experiencing rapid growth.
According to Statistics Korea on the 10th, the transaction amount for food delivery in online shopping recorded a cumulative 8.6574 trillion KRW from January to July this year, showing a 73.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The delivery app Baedal Minjok reported that the total number of orders in the last week of August, when COVID-19 spread was severe, increased by 26.5% compared to the last week of July.
As the work-from-home period extended longer than expected, sales of convenient meals such as soups, drinkable meal replacements, and bakery items for breakfast also increased. With growing interest in healthy food, the dawn delivery business, which delivers fresh ingredients and other food items, is also growing rapidly.
Modusign, an electronic contract platform company, is considered one of the companies that achieved remarkable rapid growth due to the untact (contactless) trend. As of the end of August, the number of contracts used surged by 250% in just one year, and the cumulative number of subscribers exceeded 420,000.
Modusign is used by more than 65,000 domestic and international companies including Kakao, Yanolja, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Hanssem, Class101, Market Kurly, Ridibooks, and Johnson & Johnson Medical Korea. It operates on a B2B SaaS (business-to-business software as a service) model that requires no separate program installation and is available via monthly subscription starting at 9,900 KRW including VAT. Users can easily proceed through all processes from contract upload, signature request and input, to completion, as well as manage and store contracts in a one-stop manner.
In April, it attracted attention by becoming the first domestic electronic contract service to acquire the global security certification 'ISO 27001.'
The online class platform 'Class101' achieved its highest transaction amount in August, rising approximately 160% compared to January this year. The cumulative number of members nearly doubled during the same period.
Class101 breaks down barriers in the existing online education market and offers online classes in various fields. Starting with over 500 Class101 Creative classes specialized in hobbies such as art, exercise, crafts, and drawing, it also provides Class101 Money for sharing side job and investment knowledge for those dreaming of financial freedom, Class101 Career for job training and self-development to improve work skills, Class101 Signature to learn insights and know-how from industry masters and experts, and Class101 Libre containing knowledge and cultural content in economics, humanities, society, arts, and science. It offers about 950 diverse classes regardless of time, place, or category.
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