"Give the Gift of a Meal" Baemin Gift Service Growing Rapidly

Recorded 3 Million Cases Last Year Alone

The ‘Baemin Gift’ service, which allows users to freely use gift certificates on Baedal Minjok (Baemin), is rapidly growing. This is due to the spread of non-face-to-face consumption caused by COVID-19, making online gifting a common cultural practice. Baemin’s concept of “giving a meal as a gift,” which differentiates it from other online gifting services, is also proving successful in the market.

According to Woowa Brothers on the 10th, the number of Baemin Gift transactions reached approximately 3 million last year. The user who gave the most gifts recorded 1,991 transactions, and the user who received the most gifts received a total of 94 gifts. Considering that this service was first launched in October 2020, the industry evaluates that Baemin is quickly establishing its position in the online gifting market, competing with major platforms such as Kakao and Naver.

Baemin Gift certificates range from 5,000 KRW to 200,000 KRW. The gifted certificates can be used across various services within the Baemin app, including delivery, takeout, and B Mart. The month with the highest transaction volume so far was December last year, which is analyzed as a time when people used Baemin Gift to express their feelings to family and acquaintances during Christmas and the year-end holidays. Baemin explained that February, which includes graduation, school entrance, and Valentine’s Day, as well as May, which has several commemorative days such as Parents’ Day and Teachers’ Day, are also periods when gifting transactions increase.

Baemin provides about 600 types of card images tailored to various themes such as celebration, gratitude, support, and consolation. Since its launch, Baemin has continuously improved the service, adding convenient features such as allowing gifts to be sent to up to 10 people at once. The reason Baemin is focusing on the gifting service is that the growth potential in this field is high, and it can become a new source of revenue in the future. The industry estimates the online gifting market size to be around 3.5 trillion KRW, with an annual growth rate of over 50%. A Baemin representative said, "As positive user experiences with gifting certificates spread, the proportion of high-value gifts is gradually increasing."