Coupang Widening the Gap

Last Year, Payment Amounts Overwhelmed by Wemakeprice and Tmon... Increasing More in the Second Half

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Coupang, one of the 'Big 3 e-commerce' platforms in the online shopping market, is widening the gap with competitors Wemakeprice (WEMAKEPRICE) and TMON. Based on last year's payment amounts, Coupang's growth rate was higher in the second half of the year.

According to data from big data analytics firm WiseApp on the 2nd, it is estimated that payments totaling 4.6 trillion KRW were made on Coupang over the three months from September to November last year. Considering that 1.4 trillion KRW was paid on Wemakeprice and 900 billion KRW on TMON during the same period, Coupang processed nearly four times the amount. This result is based on a sample survey of payments made via credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, and mobile micropayments.

Notably, Coupang also posted significantly higher growth rates compared to payment amounts from January to August last year. The payment amounts up to August were estimated at 10.7 trillion KRW for Coupang, 4.3 trillion KRW for Wemakeprice, and 2.6 trillion KRW for TMON. After September, Coupang's payment amount increased by 43%, while Wemakeprice and TMON grew by 33% and 35%, respectively. This means Coupang further widened the gap with its competitors in the second half of the year.

This growth trend is analyzed to be influenced by the approximately 100% increase in the number of new sellers joining Coupang Marketplace last year compared to the previous year. This indicates a rising number of sellers aiming to provide online shopping services through Coupang. One reason new sellers are attracted to Coupang Marketplace is that even products lacking brand recognition can be exposed higher in search results depending on quality. Additionally, Coupang Marketplace sellers receive customized tips regularly based on their sales performance and can independently adjust various conditions to implement the most suitable sales strategies for their products. This also enables monitoring of sales fluctuations. A Coupang representative explained, "A system that fairly secures top exposure and various self-marketing tools positively influence the decision to join, and it has been shown to contribute to actual sales growth."

Based on this, Coupang is expected to make a decisive move this year. Until now, Coupang has continued aggressive expansion by covering losses through external investments. However, since SoftBank Japan, which has made large-scale investments in Coupang, is also operating at a loss, efforts to improve profitability are necessary. A Coupang representative emphasized, "This year, Coupang plans to expand its Rocket Delivery logistics infrastructure, Marketplace, and technological growth to enhance customers' shopping experiences."