"Commission Frozen for 5 Years"... Gmarket and Auction Secure 600,000 Sellers

Last Year, New Sellers Doubled... Total Number of Sellers Up 22%

The number of sellers consistently increasing their sales through Gmarket and Auction has been confirmed.

On the 16th, Gmarket and Auction announced that the cumulative number of sellers as of December 2023 increased by 22% compared to the same period last year. This is due to the number of new sellers doubling compared to the previous year, and currently, about 600,000 sellers, including small and medium-sized merchants, are active on Gmarket and Auction.

The number of ‘active sellers,’ meaning those who are actively engaged in sales activities, also maintained an average monthly growth rate of 20% compared to the previous year as of last year. This indicates an increase in sellers consistently generating a certain level of sales on Gmarket and Auction, which is an important indicator leading to the competitiveness of products on the site and the scale of transactions.

It is interpreted that Gmarket’s various seller support policies have been effective. Last year, Gmarket launched a series of new services aimed at sellers. Representative examples include the restructuring of seller registration and sales processes, the renewal opening of the logistics warehousing agency service ‘Smile Pickup,’ the opening of the Kakao Plus Business channel, free trials of AI advertising, and the provision of sales data statistical indicators.

The ‘Fast Settlement’ service is also cited as a factor in the increase in the number of sellers. This system immediately pays the proceeds the day after product shipment, greatly helping the cash flow of small and micro sellers. Additionally, in the spirit of mutual growth with small and micro sellers, the sales commission (open market fee) has been frozen for five years since 2019, maintaining it at the industry’s lowest level, which is also evaluated as attractive.

Major discount promotions also contribute to attracting sellers. For example, Big Smile Day sees an average of about 30,000 sellers participating per event, recording a sales increase effect of more than five times (437%) compared to usual. The Big Sale held during Lunar New Year and Chuseok also serves as a growth platform for small and micro sellers, with participating sellers’ sales averaging more than three times compared to normal periods. In fact, about 30,000 sellers are expected to participate in the ‘2024 Lunar New Year Big Sale’ held by Gmarket and Auction from the 22nd to February 6th.

A Gmarket official said, “Securing excellent sellers is key to strengthening product and price competitiveness,” adding, “Under the principle that the essence of an open market is the sellers, we plan to continuously introduce various seller support services that can grow together.”