[Reporter’s Notebook] Baemin Must Listen to Business Owners’ Pleas Over 'Packaging Fees'

A plea that "there's really nothing left after deducting the packaging fee." Yet on the other hand, some say, "Pickup orders do not incur delivery fees, so as their proportion increases, the profitability of business owners will improve." Recently, a significant difference in views has emerged between tenant business owners and platforms regarding the controversial 'delivery commission.' To understand the background of this gap, we need to take a closer look at the packaging fee issue.

Baemin, the number one delivery platform in the market, decided to charge a 6.8% commission on packaging services starting from the 14th. Since launching this service in 2020, it had maintained a free policy for over five years, but from this day forward, business owners must pay a commission similar to that for food delivery. For tenant business owners who must immediately pay additional fees, this can only be bewildering.

Baemin's reasoning is relatively straightforward. Packaging orders, like deliveries, expose the store through the application (app) and generate orders, thereby linking to the tenant business's sales. Therefore, system operation costs and others can be charged the same as for delivery services. However, Baemin explains that the investment structure to activate the service was insufficient, causing slow growth and the service being perceived as unfamiliar.

Baemin also states that by collecting commissions and proceeding with app renewal and function upgrades, as well as expanding related businesses, the packaging market will be revitalized and become a new source of revenue for business owners. To this end, they are planning to invest about 30 billion KRW annually in marketing promotions such as providing customer discounts and supporting business owners to increase order volume. The strategy is to maximize the potential profits of business owners through a new sales channel called packaging.

In the global market, many delivery platforms charge packaging fees while expanding their services. For example, GrabFood in Southeast Asia positions packaging order services as a core strategy under the idea that it can dramatically improve the quality of customer experience. Since customers come to pick up food and can communicate directly, special benefits such as exclusive coupons for regular customers, promotions, and menu upgrades can be offered, and these experiences lead to repeat orders.

Despite Baemin's explanations, tenant business owners have not withdrawn their view of the platform's tyranny. The decision to charge packaging fees was announced by Baemin last April as an additional measure for voluntary regulation by the Fair Trade Commission. After a year without finding a clear point of contact on this issue, the implementation date arrived. Meanwhile, the situation surrounding small business owners has worsened. The bitter voices saying, "Closures are rampant, and it's already tough enough, now packaging fees too," are perhaps natural.

The positions of tenant business owners and the platform regarding packaging fees almost directly clash, but there is some common ground. Both sides talk about 'coexistence.' However, Baemin holds the initiative. For Baemin's explanation that expanding the packaging market pie will ultimately increase tenant business owners' profits to gain sincerity, a posture of listening to the opposing opinions rather than merely strengthening its own logic is necessary. It is time for Baemin to listen to the voices of tenant business owners suffering from packaging fees and actively reflect them in the virtuous cycle structure of the packaging market that Baemin aims to create.