Competition for Same-Day Delivery Heats Up Among E-Commerce Companies
Naver, Coupang, and Others Expand Fast Delivery and Free Return Services
SSG.com, Gmarket, and 11st Join the Race with New Logistics Strategies
Competition for same-day delivery among domestic e-commerce companies is intensifying. This is a strategy to respond to Naver's new shopping app and Rocket Delivery.
Next-day delivery, which delivers products the day after ordering, is now basic. Companies are now focusing on same-day delivery to differentiate themselves.
On January 5, when CJ Logistics' seven-day delivery service began, employees were sorting delivery items at the Gangseo B Terminal. Photo by Yonhap News
According to Yonhap News on the 2nd, NAVER will change the name of its commerce logistics brand from 'Naver Arrival Guarantee' to 'Naver Delivery' starting this month. The service will also be segmented into Today Delivery, Tomorrow Delivery, and Desired Date Delivery.
Naver plans to especially focus on growing its same-day delivery service, 'Today Delivery,' as a core offering. Today Delivery guarantees same-day arrival if the customer orders by 11 a.m. Considering that Coupang extended its Rocket Wow same-day delivery order cutoff time from 9-10 a.m. to noon in the fourth quarter of last year, Naver appears to have raised its logistics capabilities to a competitive level.
The newly introduced free return and exchange service for Naver Plus Membership members is also attracting attention in the e-commerce industry as a potential 'game changer.' Free returns and exchanges are one of Coupang's key logistics strengths and a strong incentive to retain members in its paid Wow membership.
SSG.com, affiliated with the Shinsegae Group, and Gmarket are advancing based on collaboration with CJ Logistics. Their strategy emphasizes strengthening logistics capabilities.
SSG.com is focusing on expanding its dawn delivery service in addition to its 'SSG Delivery,' which offers same-day and designated date delivery within three days of order date for areas near Emart and Traders stores. Dawn delivery guarantees delivery by 6-7 a.m. the next day if the order is placed by 10-11 p.m. Essentially, it is same-day delivery, differing only in the time slot.
In December last year, SSG.com expanded its dawn delivery service from the Seoul metropolitan area to the Chungcheong region. Following early last month in the Busan area, the service was sequentially introduced in the Daegu area by the end of the same month. Dawn delivery is also being prepared for the Honam region. Additionally, Traders same-day delivery recently started in the metropolitan area.
Gmarket began seven-day delivery in January. If customers order products marked with the Star Delivery label on Saturdays through Gmarket or Auction, the products are delivered the next day, Sunday. This service initially applies to about 150,000 products across 14 categories stocked at the Gmarket Dongtan logistics center and is planned to expand to general seller products within this year.
11st joined the fast delivery competition by introducing weekend same-day delivery service on the 22nd of last month. 'Shooting Delivery' is a service that delivers products ordered before 11 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday within the Seoul metropolitan area on the same day. Incentives such as increased exposure of products shipped today are also provided.
Meanwhile, following Coupang's Rocket Delivery, CJ Logistics started seven-day delivery from early this year, resulting in nearly a 20% increase in online platform food purchases in January compared to last year. According to sales data for major retailers in January 2025 released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, offline retailer sales increased by 8.8% year-on-year, while online sales rose by 14.6%. This is considered a meaningful growth trend even accounting for the Lunar New Year holiday effect.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
