Now '10 Million' Coupang Eats, Closely Chasing Baemin This Year

Over 70% Increase in Coupang Eats Users Last Year
Baemin Cultivates Quick Commerce as New Growth Engine

Coupang Eats' pursuit of Baedal Minjok is intensifying. Coupang Eats increased its users by more than 4 million last year, becoming a delivery app used by about 10 million people monthly. The free delivery service they introduced has significantly shaken up the market. If the growth trend continues this year, Coupang Eats is expected to catch up closely to Baemin, which has maintained a distant lead as the number one. Baemin, reorganized under new leadership, is also actively defending its position, making the competition for the top spot in the delivery app market fierce this year. In particular, Baemin plans to expand its 'quick commerce' business, delivering not only food but also various products directly to consumers' doors.

According to Mobile Index by data company IGAWorks on the 7th, last month the number of users (MAU) for Baemin, Coupang Eats, and Yogiyo were 22.43 million, 9.63 million, and 5.47 million respectively. Compared to the same period last year, Baemin, ranked first, showed almost no change, while Yogiyo decreased slightly. The remarkable point is Coupang Eats' growth. Coupang Eats grew by 4.03 million users over one year, a 72.1% increase. Its monthly user count is approaching 10 million. If this growth continues this year, Baemin's position, which has overwhelmingly held the number one spot, could be at risk.

The driving force behind Coupang Eats' growth last year was 'free delivery.' Coupang Eats changed its previous strategy of offering a 10% discount to Coupang's paid membership Wow members and started providing free delivery services from the end of March last year. This aggressive strategy considered that many users hesitate to use delivery apps due to delivery fees. The intention was to attract active online shoppers, Wow members, to Coupang Eats and transfer Coupang's e-commerce market competitiveness to the delivery app market. This strategy paid off, with Coupang Eats gaining more than 3.3 million users within nine months after launching the free delivery service. The industry notes that since the Wow membership exceeded 14 million members by the end of 2023, there is still potential for Coupang Eats to expand its user base based on this.

Coupang Eats' fierce pursuit poses a significant threat to Baemin. Although Baemin succeeded in maintaining the number one spot without major user changes over the past year, it has largely been reacting to the second-place challenger rather than leading the market. For example, Baemin's most important strategic business last year, the subscription service 'Baemin Club,' was launched in response to Coupang Eats' free delivery for Wow members. Inside Baemin, there is growing anxiety that continuing with a defensive strategy might result in losing market leadership.

Therefore, Baemin decided to accelerate the expansion of new growth engines through leadership changes this year. First, after Peter Jan Vandeput, Delivery Hero's Chief Operating Officer (COO), who served as interim CEO, Kim Beom-seok, who has experience at global platform companies such as Uber and Globo, was officially appointed as CEO. Starting this month, CEO Kim is expected to seek new growth opportunities in 'quick commerce' based on Baemin's food delivery competitiveness. To this end, Baemin plans to expand its partner stores by collaborating with large retailers such as major marts, convenience stores, corporate supermarkets, key consumer goods brands, and small business owners. They will also enhance quick commerce delivery quality using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In the core food delivery sector, they will advance technology and services to help partner stores receive more orders. An industry insider said, "Delivery apps have traditionally had a high proportion of multi-homing users who selectively use apps depending on coupon issuance or marketing situations, but now competition will differentiate fundamentally based on service rather than price."