A 28-year-old bank teller, Kim, recently changed the way she pays after lunch with colleagues at work. Originally, she made a bankbook for food expenses and calculated the price of all food at once, but now she has removed the bankbook and pays for the menu she ordered. It was because of civil complaints to accurately calculate food expenses as the price of dining out skyrocketed. Mr. Kim said, “After the method was changed, my food expenses decreased a lot. In the past, in addition to the meals for each person, we ordered one additional dish to share, but now we only order a la carte dishes as much as possible.”
Decreased eating out at all ages… Eating a packed lunchAs in the case of Mr. Kim, it was investigated that the consumption of eating out decreased due to the effect of soaring inflation. According to the Shinhan Card Big Data Research Center on the 21st, when the amount spent per먹튀검증 restaurant business by Shinhan Card customers in the first quarter of this year was set at 100, the amount spent in the second quarter was 96.2. It decreased by 3.8% compared to the previous quarter.
Although the amount spent per dining out decreased across all age groups, the decline was highest among those in their 20s. The amount of usage in the 20s compared to the first quarter was 93.4, which was a large decrease from ▶30s (96.5) ▶40s (96.1) ▶50s (96.6) ▶60s (98.5) ▶70s and older (98.8). This can be attributed to the fact that as prices rose, the use of cheap dining places increased, especially among those in their 20s with thin wallets, and more individualized eating out rather than eating together.
As an alternative, there are office workers who pack their own lunch boxes. Jomo (28, Gangseo-gu, Seoul), who has worked for five years, said that the first thing she does after work is to pack lunch to take to work the next day. He cooks it in the evening, puts it in the refrigerator, and microwaves it the next day to go to work. Mr. Cho, who has been making lunchboxes for about three months, said, “After paying 700,000 won in savings and 400,000 won in monthly rent on a monthly salary of 2.4 million won, the cost of living is tight. I didn’t have an emergency fund, so I started to save as much as possible,” he said.
Food service industry, burden of labor costs and rising food ingredients are negative factors
It is the restaurant industry that is struggling with the changed office worker lunch culture. At the beginning of this year, an economic rebound was expected due to the endemic transition, but sales did not rise, and labor costs and food ingredients increased. According to ‘The Food Out’, a public
website for the food service industry of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the food service industry’s economic trend index in the second quarter of this year was 83.26, down 3.65 points from the previous quarter (85.76). If this number exceeds 100, more companies predict an economic recovery, and if it is less than 100, it means the opposite. It was always below 100 during the pandemic, but in the first quarter of this year when the endemic was in full swing, it rebounded slightly to 86.91 compared to the previous quarter (82.54) and then fell again. The outlook is also bleak. The forecast for the food service industry’s economic index for the third quarter was 87.31, down 4.9 points from the previous quarter’s forecast (92.21). Sohn Moo-ho, director of policy at the Korea Foodservice Association, said, “As prices rise, office workers try to eat as little as possible. “We are in a tougher reality than ever, so we need to come up with measures to revitalize the restaurant industry at the government level.”
‘I’m excited’ at the returning Euchre… “From understanding your needs”
However, Director Sohn said that the fact that China allowed group tours to Korea for the first time in six years could serve as a favorable factor in the second half of the year. This is because the food service industry, centered on major tourist destinations, can also revive if youkes (Chinese group travelers) who spend a lot of money resume their tours to Korea.
However, there is a warning from some that you should not expect Euchre to pour in unconditionally since the bar has been unlocked as before. Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer studies at Inha University, said, “Since the Chinese consumer market has changed a lot in the past, we need to start by identifying what people want to buy and what they want to eat when they come to Korea.” I’m worried about not having If there is no charm, there will be no next opportunity.”