Customers Interested in Reasonable Prices and Convenience
Companies Secure Stable Income and Loyal Customers
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Subscription services in the distribution industry are gaining attention. This is because consumers can conveniently receive a variety of preferred brand products at reasonable prices. From a business perspective, it also helps secure loyal customers along with stable revenue.
According to a Consumer Insight survey on the 20th, 3 out of 5 consumers reported having experience using subscription services. 'Subscription' has established itself as a consumption trend.
With the prolonged COVID-19 situation reducing dining out frequency, products that assist in home-cooked meals are adopting subscription models. Meal kit specialist MyChef collaborated with Samsung Electronics in July to introduce a new concept multi-cook appliance, the ‘Bespoke Cooker,’ featuring meal kits optimized for cooking with the Cooker.
By scanning the barcode on the back of the meal kit with Samsung Electronics’ ‘SmartThings Cooking’ app, cooking is automatically completed. These foods, which can be cooked with the Cooker, are available for purchase through the monthly subscription service ‘MY Cooker Plan.’
According to MyChef’s official mall, three of the top 10 best-selling items last month were Cooker-exclusive meal kits. The rate of new member sign-ups on the official mall increased by 20% compared to the previous month immediately after the launch. Among customers ordering Cooker-exclusive meal kits, 78% were first-time MyChef customers. Additionally, the order amount from the main customer base of MyChef meal kits, the 30s and 40s age group, increased by 30% compared to the previous month.
The preferred menus among the 30s and 40s consumers, identified as the main subscription customer base, include House Beef Steak, Spanish Gambas al Ajillo, and Truffle Honeycomb Samgyeop Steak.
There are also services that deliver everything from rice to fruit on a regular basis. Hyundai Department Store launched the 'ToHome Subscription' service on its food specialty online mall ‘Hyundai Food Hall ToHome,’ allowing customers to subscribe to curated side dishes, rice, fruit, Korean beef (Hanwoo), and Korean pork (Handon). The side dishes consist of soup and five types of side dishes from ‘Yehyang,’ a side dish store operating for over 20 years at Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong Main Branch, delivered every Wednesday. Rice is delivered every three weeks in 5 to 5.5 kg portions of premium rice varieties sold at Hyundai Department Store’s ‘Hyundai Rice House,’ blended with black rice, brown rice, chickpeas, and other grains considering nutrition, taste, and texture. Fruits are composed of 6 to 8 types of small-pack fruits such as apple mango, grapes, and apples, delivered every two weeks. Hanwoo and Handon are delivered on the third week of each month.
Clean Country (Kkaekkeunhan Nara) has also launched a ‘household goods regular delivery’ service through its Naver brand store in line with the subscription economy trend, offering affordable delivery of items like toilet paper and kitchen towels.
Interior needs can also be met through subscriptions. Kkukka operates a flower subscription service that regularly sends bouquets to subscribers. Customers can select the desired bouquet size and preferred delivery day, and a professional florist sends a bouquet every two weeks. The product lineup is diversified by sending seasonal flowers each season. The subscription service has about 40,000 users, with an average user age of 30.
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