Baemin vs Coupang Eats 'Single Delivery' Competition Expands Nationwide

'Baemin1' Single Delivery Service Launches on the 17th in Gwangju, Busan, and Ulsan Metropolitan Cities

The competition for ‘single-order delivery,’ where one delivery rider handles one order, has expanded nationwide. Since June, Baemin and Coupang Eats, which have been engaged in an all-out battle for single-order delivery mainly in Gangnam, Seoul, have started competing in major metropolitan cities across the country. With social distancing measures being strengthened outside the metropolitan area as well, delivery demand continues to rise, and the competition is expected to intensify further.

According to Baemin on the 17th, the single-order delivery service ‘Baemin1’ was launched in the metropolitan cities of Gwangju, Busan, and Ulsan starting that day. Baemin has been rapidly expanding its service areas since launching Baemin1 in Songpa-gu, Seoul, in June. By sequentially adding major districts in Seoul, Baemin established a service network covering the entire city from the 6th of last month. This month, the service also began in some parts of Gyeonggi Province, including Yongin, Seongnam, Suwon, and Goyang, and now the service range has been extended to major metropolitan cities nationwide. According to industry sources, the number of Baemin1 registered stores has increased by an average of 50% per month since registration began in April, currently reaching about 80,000.

As Baemin aggressively expands its single-order delivery service areas, the rapid growth of Coupang Eats users has slowed. According to Mobile Index by data company IGAWorks, last month, the number of Baemin and Coupang Eats users (MAU) on Android and iPhone (iOS) smartphones was 20.74 million and 5.26 million, respectively. Compared to June, when the full-scale single-order delivery battle began, Baemin users increased by 3%, but Coupang Eats users decreased by 4.3%. Considering that Baemin increased by 5.9% and Coupang Eats by 14% from April to June, the intensification of the single-order delivery competition appears to be a turning point in the user growth trends of both companies. Industry experts analyze that single-order delivery, which assigns only one delivery rider per order, was a unique advantage of Coupang Eats, but with the full-scale launch of Baemin’s single-order delivery service, the market is also being affected.

Unlike the bundled delivery method, which handles 3 to 4 orders at once, single-order delivery requires securing a sufficient number of delivery riders, so competition to recruit riders is expected to become fierce. An industry official said, "Delivery apps are putting great effort into recruiting delivery riders through various promotions for single-order delivery," adding, "Competition among companies to capture the increased demand due to the prolonged strengthening of social distancing will become even more intense."