Coupang to Apply Price Increase for New Members from the 13th
Existing Paid Membership Monthly Fees to Rise from August
"Enhanced Benefits Applied"
Coupang is raising the price of its paid membership service, 'Wow Membership,' to 7,890 KRW. This is the second price increase since the membership was introduced in 2019. In the distribution industry, there is speculation that Coupang is aiming to maximize profitability ahead of the nationwide expansion of Rocket Delivery.
On the 12th, Coupang announced that the Wow Membership fee will increase by 58.12%, from 4,990 KRW to 7,890 KRW per month. The price increase will apply to new members starting from the 13th. Existing members can continue to use the service at the previous price for now, but the price will increase starting in August.
Wow Membership is a paid membership service introduced by Coupang in 2019. It has offered benefits such as unlimited free use of Rocket Delivery (next-day delivery), Rocket Fresh (early morning delivery), Rocket Direct Purchase, and video services (OTT) like Coupang Play. Since last month, unlimited free delivery through Coupang Eats has also been added.
This price increase is interpreted as a move to maximize profitability. The number of members affected by this policy exceeded 14 million as of last year. For Coupang, this means an annual revenue increase of 40.6 billion KRW.
The revenue Coupang can collect in the future is expected to grow even larger. Previously, Coupang announced plans to invest 30 trillion KRW over the next three years to build new logistics centers and accelerate the expansion of its logistics network and Rocket Delivery nationwide. According to this plan, the areas where Rocket Delivery is available (Cusegwon) will expand from 70% (182 out of 260 cities and counties nationwide) to 88% (230 areas) starting in 2027. The number of Wow Membership subscribers is also expected to increase further.
Coupang believes that this price increase will not lead to the loss of existing Wow Membership subscribers. The reason is that during the first price increase in December 2021 (from 2,900 KRW to 4,990 KRW), which was a 72% increase, no significant member churn was detected. In fact, the number of Wow Membership subscribers rose from 9 million before the price increase in 2021 to 11 million the following year.
Coupang plans to offer even stronger benefits to Wow Membership subscribers in the future. In particular, Coupang Play is expected to present a larger content lineup this year compared to last year. In terms of sports events, this summer, Coupang plans to invite Bayern Munich, a prestigious German Bundesliga club and the team of national team defender Kim Min-jae, to Korea for the first time, providing benefits to Wow Membership subscribers.
A Coupang representative stated, "We will continuously introduce benefits that will surprise our customers so that Wow Membership can become the best service on Earth."
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