E-commerce Industry Strengthens Win-Win Initiatives with Small Business Owners

Coupang and Jeju Island Collaborate to Expand Sales Channels for Local Small Businesses
Tmon Implements 0% Sales Commission Policy and Supports Detailed Page Creation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] E-commerce companies are actively carrying out win-win support projects for small business owners. They discover and support the sales of products from small business owners who face difficulties in securing sales channels, marketing, and promotion despite having excellent product quality. In particular, they support local small business owners in pioneering new sales channels, developing specialized products, and nurturing them into competitive local brands.

Coupang has partnered with Jeju Provincial Government and Jeju Economic and Trade Promotion Agency to support the expansion of sales channels for small and medium-sized businesses in the Jeju region. This win-win support project was planned to help small and medium-sized businesses in Jeju enter the online market. As the first step of the support project, Coupang conducts a product evaluation meeting for applicant companies and selects participating businesses. A total of 36 companies mainly selling Jeju regional specialties such as agricultural, marine, and livestock products are participating. In the second half of this year, a win-win promotional event will be held together with the participating companies. Coupang will cooperate in producing and broadcasting live commerce mainly for newly joined companies. Existing small and medium-sized businesses in Jeju can also receive support such as up to 20% discount promotions and main banner advertisements.

Coupang became a full-fledged win-win partner by establishing two delivery camps for Rocket Delivery in Jeju in 2020. As Jeju became a Rocket Delivery living zone, the sales of Jeju small business owners who joined Coupang from 2019 to 2021 increased by about 350%. In April 2020, Coupang held the 'Cheer Up Korea' promotional event with Jeju Province to support marketing for small and medium-sized businesses in Jeju, continuing their cooperation. The sales of companies participating in Coupang’s ongoing regional small business support projects grew by 69% in one year.

Tmon has partnered with the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center to strengthen win-win cooperation with small business owners by starting various support activities ranging from commission benefits to live broadcasts and online sales channel development. To revitalize online sales for small business owners, first, until August, they support new entrants with a '0% sales commission policy' and detailed page production. For products registered on the open market, sales commissions are waived for up to 60 days. Considering that the average commission for vendors on online shopping channels is in the 10% range, this is regarded as a practical support measure necessary for initial market settlement. They also produce online product detail pages for free to introduce the product’s features. Small business owners who wish to participate can apply through 'Panpandaero,' a sales channel information platform operated by the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center.

Tmon continuously cooperates with the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center to support small business owners’ entry into online sales channels. They showcase successful online entry cases through various promotional events selling products from small business owners with limited online accessibility, as well as through 'TVON,' Tmon’s live commerce platform that consolidates their know-how.