New data reveals that in South Korea, summer rainy days boost sales for traditional comfort foods like bindaetteok and sujebi.
Bindaetteok is a traditional Korean pancake made from mung beans, various vegetables, and meat, often enjoyed as a popular rainy-day comfort food. Sujebi, on the other hand, is a traditional Korean soup consisting of hand-torn dough flakes cooked in a broth with vegetables, and it is also considered a comforting dish during rainy weather.
On June 30, KB Kookmin Card released an analysis of personal credit and debit card sales data, along with public data, to compare the number of offline restaurant and delivery app transactions based on the rainfall in Seoul from June to August last year.
The analysis revealed that on days when it rained heavily (more than 10mm), the number of transactions at bindaetteok restaurants was 35% higher compared to clear days.
Sujebi restaurants also saw a 13% increase in transactions on rainy days compared to clear days. However, there was no correlation between weather and the number of transactions at jjambbong (spicy seafood noodle soup) restaurants, which is also a popular choice among Koreans on such days.
In contrast, sashimi restaurants (-28%) and mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) restaurants (-46%) experienced a sharp decline in transactions during wet weather.
On days with heavy rainfall, offline stores generally saw a decrease in sales, while sales through delivery applications increased. Last year, on days with heavy rainfall, the number of delivery app transactions in Seoul decreased by 4.6% on weekdays but increased by 3.8% on weekends.
Offline stores saw a decline in the number of transactions on both weekdays and weekends, with bars (-16.2%) and cafes (-15.1%) experiencing significant drops. Restaurants (-8.4%) and taxis (-8.4%) also saw a decrease in transactions compared to clear days.
