There are now 3.5 million users of mobile services that take care of household chores, from cleaning to laundry to running errands. That number nearly tripled during COVID-19. Startups are at the center of this market. While it’s easy to assume that cleaning and laundry can be done by anyone, startups have found a business model in solving these everyday problems with innovative technology.

On April 5, WiseApp, an app analytics service, reported that the number of installers of life service apps reached 3.5 million as of April. The figure, estimated by surveying Korean smartphone users (Android + iOS), includes installers of major life service apps such as “Miso,” “Cleaning Lab,” “Surrogate Housewife,” “Laundry Commando,” “Lundigo,” “Please,” “Today’s Separate Collection,” “Minus,” and “Here.” The total number of installers of these apps was 3.5 million. In April 2020, at the beginning of COVID-19, the number was around 1.2 million. That’s nearly 200% growth in three years.

The app with the most installers is cleaning service Miso, with 750,000. This is followed by the general errand service ‘Please’ with 590,000먹튀검증 installs and the cleaning app ‘Cleaning Lab’ with 420,000 installs. Laundry Commandos and Lundrigo, which compete in the mobile laundry market, were installed by 420,000 and 270,000 users, respectively. Compared to three years ago, Laundry Squad has grown 2.7x and Lundigo has grown 2x.

Lundigo

Since its launch in 2019, Lundigo has seen a CAGR of more than 85% in laundry orders. The convenience of applying via mobile, from collection to laundry to delivery, has been a hit with the market. The number of orders exceeded 2 million cumulatively last month after four years of service. This year, the growth rate has been steep, with more than 300,000 orders recorded in the first quarter alone.

Cleaning Institute, a home cleaning service operated by Life Research Institute, has also been growing at an average rate of around 20% per month. This is largely due to the fact that the company moved its domestic helper brokerage service to an IT platform, allowing customers and cleaning managers to search, book, and manage on a mobile app. The number of registered cleaning managers exceeded 100,000 this year, thanks to the expansion of service areas.

Growth in this market is driven by women and users in their 30s and 40s. Lundigo has 59.8% female users and 68.4% in their 30s and 40s. Today’s Separate Collection, a trash service app, had 67.8% female users and 67.2% in their 30s and 40s. Cleaning Research Institute also has 68.1% female users and 59.9% users in their 30s and 40s. “Women in their 30s and 40s prefer to spend less effort on household chores and more time on their own,” said an industry insider. “The market for services that help with everyday inconveniences will continue to grow.”