Sweltering heat takes toll on restaurants, cafes and bars
A pedestrian holding a parasol walks past a fountain in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Friday. Yonhap
As the relentless heat wave persists, people are increasingly reluctant to venture out for meals, coffee or drinks, dealing another blow to restaurants, cafes and bars as customer numbers plunge.
Office workers are increasingly opting for food delivery instead of going out for group lunches or dinners because of the sweltering heat, while many are heading straight home after work rather than gathering for drinks with colleagues.
The number of people spending money in Seoul's major business districts and commercial areas, such as Gwanghwamun, Jonggak, Yeouido and Gangnam, has decreased, data showed Friday.
According to real-time urban data for Seoul, the commercial district vitality index in Yeouido decreased by 5.8 percent between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, compared to the same time last week.
The commercial district vitality index is an indicator representing the extent of consumption by people staying in a given location.
"We need to generate at least 3 million won ($2,113) in daily sales to keep the business afloat," the owner of a meat restaurant in Yeouido said. "But lately, perhaps because of the heat, we've struggled to even reach 1 million won in daily sales.
"We used to serve about 10 groups of customers every evening, but over the past two weeks, only about three groups have come in," the owner added. "It seems people are skipping after-work gatherings because of the heat and ordering delivery at home instead."
An employee of a securities firm in Yeouido said he and his colleagues have been ordering food to the office for group lunches instead of going out for dinner after work.
"It's so hot that everyone seems to have lost their energy," he said. "In the evenings, people just want to head straight home."
In the Jonggak Station area, where restaurants, cafes and other commercial establishments are concentrated, the commercial activity rate also plunged 28.9 percent from the same time a week earlier, while the Gangnam Station area recorded a 12 percent decline.
Measured at around 3 p.m. when temperatures peaked, Yeouido's commercial vitality index fell 29.7 percent compared to last week, the data showed. The corresponding declines were 71.1 percent for Gangnam Station, 65.4 percent for Gwanghwamun Square and 19.1 percent for Jonggak Station.
The data also found that the number of people going out for lunch has also decreased. For instance, the commercial district vitality rate in Gwanghwamun dropped 42.9 percent between noon and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, when temperatures soared to 36 C.
By contrast, the number of people using food delivery services has increased lately. According to food delivery platform Baemin, the number of food delivery orders increased by approximately 6 percent between July 29 and Wednesday, when a heat wave warning was issued across Seoul, compared to the same period of last month.