Protracted Pandemic Changes Consumption Patterns

Koreans' consumption patterns have changed over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Furniture and home appliances sold like hot cakes during the first year of the pandemic as most people had to spend all day at home, but the following year sales of bags and clothes soared.

Statistics Korea said on Monday that sales of semi-durable products such as bags and clothes surged 12.4 percent last year.

The surge appears to reflect pent-up demand as people who were cooped up at home during the first year of the pandemic started going out again after getting tired of the never-ending lockdown.

Online transactions of food products soared to a record high of W58.5 trillion in 2021, a surge from a mere W13 trillion in 2017 as people increasingly turned to food-delivery apps like Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo (US$1=W1,199).