Competition intensifies to secure more food delivery workers
A Baedal Minjok delivery worker rides a scooter to deliver food in Seoul on Jan. 3. Korea Times file
By Kim Jae-heun
Food delivery services are competing to secure more delivery drivers, as increasing numbers of food orders are taking place online, following the imposition of the toughest social distancing rules, Level 4, by the government, in response to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baedal Minjok (Baemin), Coupang Eats Food and other delivery platform players are currently offering various benefits and promotions.
Baemin decided to hold a prize lottery for delivery people every week starting July 5. The prizes range from a camping car to a gold bar, hotel vouchers and gift cards.
Coupang Eats has been paying incentives of up to 60,000 won ($52) per day. For delivery workers who invite people they know to sign up as new delivery workers, both the inviter and newly-recruited worker will be given a 10,000 won incentive.
As the fourth wave of COVID-19 is underway in Korea, raising the average number of new daily cases into the 1,300 range this week, the demand for online food orders has increased drastically. Naturally, the competition to attract delivery drivers has become fiercer, especially with delivery service platforms placing “one-delivery-per-rider” pledges.
The pledge started with Coupang Eats, which adopted a new marketing strategy to deliver one meal at a time, as customers were complaining of their food getting cold during the time it takes to make multiple deliveries. The implementation of this pledge resulted in higher satisfaction for customers, as well as a shortage of delivery workers across the country.
Additionally, the increase of “quick commerce” services is boosting the demand for delivery people. “Quick commerce” refers to online retail businesses where people can order items and receive them in some cases on the same day.
Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baemin, started its quick commerce service, “B Mart,” earlier last year, and Yogiyo introduced a similar service in September 2020. Another firm, GS Retail, launched its delivery service last month, utilizing its convenience store chain GS25 to enable customers to order any item from the store online and have it delivered to their door.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of stopping, much of the demand for dining out is shifting to the delivery market. The demand for delivery services will continue to rise with the scorching heat of the peak of summer. The market will have no choice but to offer a variety of promotions to expand delivery worker networks, which in turn could hike up the price of delivery services, and customers could end up bearing those,” an industry source said.