E-commerce Companies Step Up to Support Local Small Business Owners

Coupang Hosts 'Win-Win Planning Exhibition' for Small Businesses in Gyeongbuk
Tmon Offers Special Seafood Sale from Changwon City Jinhae Fisheries Cooperative

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] E-commerce companies are putting great effort into supporting small and medium-sized merchants to revitalize the regional economy, which has been stagnant due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. This is expected to be an opportunity for customers to purchase high-quality products at affordable prices while strengthening the local economy.

Coupang is collaborating with the Gyeongsangbuk-do Economic Promotion Agency to hold the 'Gyeongbuk Small and Medium-sized Merchant Win-Win Exhibition.' This is to expand online sales channels and support sales for small and medium-sized merchants in the region. Coupang directly purchases products from Gyeongbuk companies and actively supports promotional marketing activities using main banner advertisements to help increase sales. In this exhibition, which continues until the end of October, 2,830 products from 265 companies based in Gyeongbuk are offered at up to 20% discount. Customers can enjoy excellent Gyeongbuk regional products through Rocket Delivery.

There is also a 'Product Evaluation Meeting for Store Entry' to assist small and medium-sized merchants located in Gyeongsangbuk-do who wish to join Coupang. The product evaluation meeting for small and medium-sized merchants and micro and small enterprises in Gyeongsangbuk-do has been held four times since September 2020 to help them develop online sales channels. Building on this success, Coupang plans to hold two product evaluation meetings this year, in the first and second halves of the year.

Tmon has planned a win-win project in collaboration with 'Gonggyeoksu Chef,' a cooking YouTuber with 160,000 subscribers, and the Jinhae Fisheries Cooperative in Changwon City to help local fishermen struggling with exports due to COVID-19. For this project, Tmon and Gonggyeoksu Chef visited the Jinhae Fisheries Cooperative in Changwon City to experience the entire process, including clam harvesting, auctioning, cleaning, and processing, and uploaded it on YouTube. Gonggyeoksu Chef also shared recipes that allow seafood caught by himself to be cooked with minimal preparation.

Tmon, Gonggyeoksu Chef, and the Jinhae Fisheries Cooperative offered surf clams, Manila clams, squid, and webfoot octopus?mostly exported to Japan before COVID-19?at prices more than 10% lower than those at the Jinhae Fisheries Cooperative seafood direct sales store. They sell a limited quantity daily to ensure the fastest delivery with the best quality. In December last year, Tmon signed a business agreement with Changwon City to support local small merchants and promised cooperation for win-win growth through programs such as commerce academy, discovering and nurturing local creators, and developing region-specific products.