Cafe24 Partners with Facebook to Serve 3.1 Billion Customers Worldwide

Cafe24 Launches 'Facebook Shops' Integration Service
1.3 Billion Facebook Users as Potential Customers
Real-Time Product Listing Upon Upload
Driving Traffic from Shopping Malls to Payment

High Utilization in K-Fashion and Beauty
Following Japan and Southeast Asia, Expanding to India Next Year
1.8 Million Domestic Shopping Malls Going Global

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] E-commerce platform Cafe24 is taking a step closer to the global market through collaboration with Facebook. With this collaboration, Cafe24's 1.8 million shopping malls can welcome Facebook's 3.1 billion users worldwide as potential customers.

On the 8th, Cafe24 announced the launch of the 'Facebook Shops' real-time linkage service in partnership with Facebook. Internet shopping malls hosted on Cafe24 can display products on Facebook and Instagram with just a few clicks. In May, Facebook announced cooperation with eight global partner companies to establish the 'Shops' project. Cafe24 is the only e-commerce platform company from East Asia participating in this initiative.

Cafe24, Facebook, and Instagram Integration

The biggest advantage of Shops is that shopping mall operators can manage their own shopping malls and Facebook and Instagram in an integrated manner. When products are uploaded to Cafe24, they are registered in real-time on Facebook and Instagram, and any modifications or deletions of product information are reflected instantly.

Orders and payments are made on the operator’s own shopping mall. The 'Pay on Website (Shopping Mall)' button applied to each product allows customers to complete everything from entering the shopping mall to ordering and payment. This effectively expands sales channels globally based on the operator’s own shopping mall. The method of showcasing products uses a feature called 'Collection.' Instead of simply listing products, the business operator sets classification criteria such as season, release time, discounted products, and style to maximize marketing effects.

Facebook and Instagram users can easily find desired products by adjusting search filters such as registration date order, price order, discount status, and stock availability. This structure is based on the 'seamless shopping experience' emphasized by Cafe24 and Facebook.

Catalyst for Korean E-commerce Exports

Shops is also a promising tool to support Korean companies’ e-commerce exports. With simple settings, products can be showcased to users in various countries where Facebook operates, such as North America, Japan, and Southeast Asia. 'Targeted marketing' tailored to specific countries also becomes easier. In terms of customer service, business operators can provide online consultation services to overseas users through 'Facebook Messenger' and 'Instagram DM.'

The utilization of Shops is expected to be high in Hallyu content fields such as fashion and beauty, collectively referred to as 'K-Style.' Through Shops, the path for domestic online shopping malls to enter the global market has been widely opened. Cafe24 and Facebook will launch Shops simultaneously in Japan as well as domestically. It will be linked to the 'Cafe24 Japan platform,' launched in October 2018, allowing Japanese shopping mall operators registered there to also use the service.

1.8 Million K-Shopping Malls Going Global

With the launch of Shops, the demand for online shopping mall startups through Cafe24 is expected to increase significantly. In the third quarter of this year alone, Cafe24 built 35,836 online shopping malls. This is a 39.61% increase (11,068 malls) compared to the same period last year, with an average of 11,945 shopping malls built per month. As of September this year, the cumulative number of online shopping malls built on the Cafe24 platform reaches approximately 1.8 million.

In the first half of next year, Cafe24 will also enter the Indian market, which has a population of 1.3 billion. In addition, it has expanded to various countries worldwide, including local subsidiaries in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. Lee Jae-seok, CEO of Cafe24, said, "Cafe24 and Facebook share the common value of emphasizing hyperconnectivity between people and businesses through IT," adding, "We will work hard with Facebook to help more online shopping malls succeed in the global market."