When Choosing Dumplings or Instant Rice, Consumers Put 'Price' First... High Inflation Leaves Shoppers Uneasy

Results of the 2025 Processed Food Consumer Attitude Survey
Price Ranks as the Top Consideration When Purchasing Processed Foods

The Korea Consumer Agency announced that, as a result of investigating shrinkflation in processed foods managed by Cham Price and products mentioned in media reports, the volume of 37 products across 9 categories has actually decreased over the past year. The photo shows Haitai hometown dumplings displayed at the Hanaro Mart Yangjae branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 13th. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

Last year, when purchasing processed foods such as dumplings and instant rice, consumers prioritized price over taste. As prices soared, it appears that price became a more significant factor in consumers' purchasing decisions at the checkout.

According to the "Key Results and Implications of the 2025 Processed Food Consumer Attitude Survey" released by the Korea Rural Economic Institute on March 14, price was the most frequently cited factor (23.2%) considered by consumers when purchasing processed foods last year. Taste ranked second (21.8%), followed by quality (19.3%), freshness (11.4%), and safety (8.9%). The proportion of consumers who chose price as their primary consideration increased by 4 percentage points from the previous year, while the proportion citing taste as the main criterion dropped by over 5 percentage points, resulting in a reversal in ranking.

The response rate for consumers who cited price as the top consideration for processed foods was the second highest since the survey began in 2018, following 24.2% in 2022.

It is analyzed that inflation has influenced these consumer decisions. Last year, the processed food consumer price index was 124.04 (2020=100), up 4.36 points from the previous year. In 2022, the processed food consumer price index also rose by 7.94 points to 110.02 compared to the previous year. Lim Jieun, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Rural Economic Institute, explained, "Whenever prices rise significantly compared to the previous year, the tendency to consider price increases," adding, "At the same time, the growing trend of purchasing processed foods online, which makes price comparison easier, also appears to have had an impact."

In fact, last year, 7 out of 10 households purchased processed foods online. Among consumers in their 20s to 40s, over 90% bought processed foods online. "Online distribution specialty shopping malls" remained the leading online channel for purchasing processed foods, with a 67.5% response rate. This figure increased by 12.2 percentage points compared to the previous year, further strengthening the dominance of online distribution specialty shopping malls. In 2024, the second most common channel for purchasing processed foods online, "online stores of large supermarkets, department stores, and home shopping," saw its response rate decrease from 22.1% to 11.0%, dropping by 11.1 percentage points in one year.

The response rate for consumers who regularly purchase processed foods at least once a week rose slightly to 63.8% last year from 66.2% in 2024. Across all online and offline distribution channels, noodles accounted for the highest share of processed food purchases based on total expenditure (16.6%), while beverages ranked highest for online spending (15.7%). There was also a continued increase in consumers seeking convenience foods (HMRs).

Associate Research Fellow Lim stated, "This year, the proportion of consumers who prefer online channels as their primary place for purchasing processed foods is expected to remain at the current level or continue to increase," adding, "Noodles, dairy products, convenience foods, and beverages have consistently ranked among the top purchased categories across all distribution channels and are expected to maintain a high share this year as long as there are no significant price changes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.