Chaotic Delivery Market... Coupang Eats Accelerates Its Comeback

Coupang Eats Advances... Continuous User Growth Starting from Q2 This Year

The competition in the delivery platform market among Baedal Minjok (Baemin), Yogiyo, and Coupang Eats is showing signs of a mixed battle. While Baemin continues to maintain a large lead as the number one, the third-place player Coupang Eats is narrowing the gap with renewed momentum.

On the 6th, data company IGAWorks reported through Mobile Index that Coupang Eats' monthly active users (MAU) last month reached 4.26 million. Compared to 2.98 million recorded in March, this is a 43.0% increase. Users have increased for six consecutive months since March, with 1.28 million new users added. Compared to competitors, Coupang Eats' recent growth is even more remarkable. During the same period, Baemin increased by only 1.3%, while Yogiyo's users actually decreased by 12.3%.

This is not the first time Coupang Eats has experienced rapid user growth. In 2021, it showed an even steeper growth curve. From 2.84 million in December 2020 to 5.5 million in June the following year, it increased by a staggering 93.5% over six months. This remarkable growth was due to providing a differentiated user experience with 'single-order delivery' and aggressive discount promotions in the early stages of the service. However, Coupang Eats peaked at 7.02 million users in December of that year and then showed a continuous decline. Competitors also entered the single-order delivery market, and the number of delivery app users decreased after the endemic (periodic outbreak of infectious diseases).

However, the industry expects this recent growth of Coupang Eats to be different from the past. This is because it is based on the competitiveness of Coupang Wow Membership, which had 11 million subscribers as of the end of last year. Since April this year, Coupang Eats has been offering a 10% discount on delivery fees at designated restaurants for 'Rocket Wow' members, Coupang's paid membership. An industry insider explained, "This is a strategy to make active online shopping customers who are Wow membership members choose Coupang Eats when using delivery services." This strategy, which lowers the burden of delivery fees while retaining loyal Coupang customers, has been effective, and user growth has continued since then.

With Coupang Eats' strong performance, the delivery market is expected to become even more competitive. Baemin had 19.54 million users last month. Although it is a solid market leader, the growth trend that surpassed 20 million users last month has slowed. Yogiyo recorded 5.88 million users, continuing a downward trend for the second consecutive month. The effect of subscription services such as 'YogipassX,' which offers free delivery benefits, seems to fall short of expectations. An industry insider said, "Delivery platforms tend to be selectively used by users depending on discounts, etc. Since it is difficult to continue discount competition, it is not easy to predict the future market situation where a mixed battle will unfold."