Mr. Kim (27), an office worker, recently enjoyed a free Korean beef course meal at a meat restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul to celebrate his lover’s birthday. The course, which includes appetizers, grilled Korean beef, and a bottle of wine, costs 110,000 won per person. Originally, I would have had to pay a hefty meal fee of 220,000 won in total, but I received sponsorship on the premise of posting on the blog. He said, “I am saving 30-40% of my monthly dating expenses by receiving sponsorship from blogs big and small.”
Due to the recession and high prices, ‘sponsored dates’, where date expenses are sponsored, are spreading among the 20s and 30s generation. This is a form of receiving meal coupons in exchange for posting about the store on Instagram or Naver blog. There are a variety of sponsorship items, including expensive restaurants priced over 200,000 won, ice cream and coffee priced in the 10,000-20,000 won range, fitness, and climbing.
The fact that even ordinary individuals, even if they are not influencers, are jumping into sponsorship is largely due to the increased burden of eating out due to rising prices. According to Statistics Korea on the 3rd, the consumer price index for eating out as of July was 117.66,메이저사이트 up more than 17% compared to 2020. It has been on the rise for 31 months since December 2020. In an era of high prices , the 20s and 30s generation, who have light wallets and are accustomed to using social media , have found a ‘dating outlet’ through sponsorship.
Mr. Lee (26) also visited ‘Cigar Bar’ in Gangnam-gu, Seoul with his girlfriend early this year. They received sponsorship of two cigars worth 50,000 won each and two cocktails in exchange for blog posts. He said, “While looking for a unique date course, I had an opportunity to smoke a cigar that I don’t normally get to see, so I applied to the experience group.” He added, “In the future, I plan to receive sponsorships focused on experiences that I can do with my girlfriend, such as climbing and making perfume.” did.
Sites that broker sponsorships are also popular. Naver blogs increased by 2 million last year. Among these, people in their 10s to 30s accounted for the largest proportion at 76% of all users. This is in contrast to Naver Blog, which was once treated as a dying platform among the MZ generation. Platforms that connect SNS and stores are also growing. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s Electronic Disclosure System, sales of influencer marketing platform Revue Corporation amounted to 40.3 billion won last year, up 75.2% from the previous year.
As SNS sponsorship increases, ‘no-show’ customers who do not visit the store even after being promised sponsorship, or customers who request excessive sponsorship, are also frowned upon. A business owner who runs a cafe in Yongsan-gu, Seoul said, “If I sponsor 10 people, I have a headache because there are always 1 or 2 ‘no-show’ customers who don’t show up. On the other hand, there are often cases where they ask for a menu other than the sponsorship.”
Choi Ji-hye, a researcher at Seoul National University’s Consumption Trend Analysis Center, said, “Due to the economic downturn and rising prices, the conspicuous consumption trend of ‘Yolo’ and ‘Flex’ is leading to substance-oriented consumption,” adding, “The MZ generation, which does not regard unconditional saving as a virtue , is “It’s a phenomenon of finding ways to date with limited resources,” he said.