Delivery App Users Surge on June 24, the Day of South Korea National Team's First Match
Baemin Up 37.5%, Yogiyo 58.3%, Coupang Eats 39.1% Compared to Previous Week
On the 24th, during the 2022 Qatar World Cup match between South Korea and Uruguay, citizens gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, passionately cheered./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Those who ordered chicken on the evening of the 24th know well. It was not easy to receive chicken in time for the Korean national team's World Cup match starting at 10 PM. As orders flooded in at the right moment, some payment processes on delivery applications (apps) slowed down, and in some cases, orders even failed. Even if the order was successful, it took much longer than usual for the food to arrive. The situation was the same for those who rushed to buy chicken in time for the Korean team's kickoff. Long lines formed at local chicken shops, and with the game about to start, people anxiously stared at the fryer, wondering if that chicken would be theirs. This could very well happen again on the evening of the 28th. Delivery apps, having experienced this 'World Cup boom' and the surge in orders, are now busy preparing countermeasures to ensure smooth service.
According to Mobile Index by data company IGAWorks on the 28th, the number of users (DAU) of Baemin (Baedal Minjok), Yogiyo, and Coupang Eats on Android and iPhone (iOS) smartphones on the 24th were 6.25 million, 1.65 million, and 680,000 respectively. Compared to the same day of the previous week, the 17th, Baemin saw a 37.5% increase in users, Yogiyo 58.3%, and Coupang Eats 39.1%. Compared to the previous day, the increases were 42.1%, 56.9%, and 60.8% respectively. The first match of the Korean national team in the Qatar World Cup led to a sharp rise in delivery app users.
The industry views that the main matches of this Qatar World Cup being held late at night and early morning caused a significant increase in people ordering delivery food while cheering for soccer. Especially since the Korean team performed well in their first match against Uruguay, expectations for the match against Ghana on the 28th are high, and delivery orders on that day are also expected to surge significantly.
Delivery apps are putting all their efforts into technical preparations to handle the sudden increase in orders. Baemin operates all its services based on cloud infrastructure. When customer access or orders increase, the infrastructure usage scales accordingly. In particular, for events where orders are likely to increase further during the World Cup period, including national team matches, they have a system in place to pre-check and expand capacity in advance. A Baemin representative said, "We prepare in advance with monitoring, capacity expansion, and emergency response according to event schedules."
Yogiyo is also focusing on responding to the surge in orders on that day. Based on experiences from the 24th and previous occasions, Yogiyo stated that they are technically prepared to efficiently process orders even when they flood in. Since rider demand and supply may vary by region, they plan to flexibly operate rider-targeted promotions. Coupang Eats is conducting emergency shifts and strengthening monitoring. They are also encouraging customers to use takeout orders by distributing coupons that can be used for popular brands' takeout orders.
An industry insider said, "The World Cup boom is bringing users to the delivery app market, bringing vitality after a long time," and added, "Each company is making thorough technical preparations to efficiently handle concentrated orders."
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