Unraveling the Impact of Pandemic: Investigating COVID-19 Effects on Seoul’s Alley Market Districts through Sales Variance and Urban Decline Assessment

The global spread of COVID-19 and continuing emergence of mutated viruses have taken a direct economic toll on local alley market districts. However, the measurable economic impact of COVID-19 differs by market, depending on the characteristics of the local market district. Studies are required on market sales that reflect changes in people’s perceptions of the market’s surroundings and green spaces when considering unusual circumstance, such as a large-scale pandemic. This study aims to identify factors that influenced sales of the alley market districts in Seoul, South Korea before and during COVID-19, focusing on the perceived urban decline, index of greenness, and accessibility to parks and green spaces. A spatial regression analysis is conducted based on six factors affecting face-to-face businesses’ sales variance from 2017 to the third quarter of 2021. The findings show that perceived urban decline has a positive association with sales variance, while the index of greenness and park/green space accessibility have no statistically significant relationships with sales variance. The results suggest the need to apply the index of perceived urban decline when evaluating market revitalization according to the Regional Market Act in social disaster situations, and the need to improve market surroundings to implement the revitalization project.