"Online and Offline Alike, Brands Popular Among People in Their 50s Show High Growth"

Open Survey, Analysis of South Korea's Consumer Life Trends
Last Year’s Significant Growth in Online Services Market Kurly and Baedal Minjok

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Online services that showed significant growth last year included Market Kurly and Baedal Minjok. It was analyzed that brands that opened the wallets of consumers in their 50s, who have strong purchasing power both online and offline, achieved high growth.

According to the content analyzed by Open Survey on the 24th through the webinar 'Buy: The New Daily Life Brought by Online Distribution Growth,' which analyzed brands that grew in 2021 by the number of payers and the number of payments, the online distribution service that showed the greatest growth based on the number of payers was 'Market Kurly,' which grew by 57.01% compared to the previous year. 'Baedal Minjok' increased by 28.14%. 'Today’s House' grew by 34.28% based on the number of payments.

The number of payers was used as an indicator to observe the increase or decrease in brand users, and the number of payments was used as an indicator to gauge user loyalty. Notably, more than half of the top 10 brands in both indicators were online distribution services. Open Survey analyzed that this "shows the acceleration of the online transition in the distribution market."

Open Survey analyzed that brands or channels that achieved high performance succeeded in expanding their customer base both online and offline. As online distribution entered a mature stage, the main customer group expanded to those in their 50s, and brands with a significant increase in payment transactions from consumers in their 50s with actual purchasing power showed good performance within their categories. This was more prominent in e-commerce and delivery services, with the number of payments by consumers in their 50s for 'Market Kurly' rising by 86.7% compared to the previous year.

Also, channels that provided consumers with verified choices grew significantly last year. For 'Market Kurly,' which showed high performance, and 'warehouse discount stores,' which showed relatively stable performance even after the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the common key factors satisfying consumers were 'exclusive products and product assortments focused on private brand (PB) products.'

This analysis was based on real-time collection and classification of domestic credit card and debit card payment push notifications or SMS from 15,878 panels who gave prior consent to Open Survey. The analysis combined card payment data totaling 54,000 transactions and a total payment amount of 190.25 billion KRW over 24 months from February 2020 to January 2022, along with additional survey results targeting the panels, to analyze consumer purchasing behavior.

Jeon Yeri, head of the Data Business Team who presented at the webinar, said, "We hope this presentation will serve as a good compass for companies trying to respond to the market that has changed significantly with COVID-19," and added, "We plan to hold separate webinars within this year to analyze not only consumer lifestyles but also food and leisure trends through data."