'My Shopping Cart' Generates Massive Wealth [Coupang AI Dominance] ③

Monetizing Search, Purchase, and Cart Data
Sold to Rocket Sellers for 3 to 8 Million Won per Month
Used for Targeted Marketing...Coupang in Hot Pursuit

Coupang, the largest e-commerce platform in Korea, analyzes vast amounts of consumer data and sells it to third-party sellers (sellers) for a minimum fee of 3 million won. After building an artificial intelligence (AI)-based logistics system and achieving rapid growth, the shopping experiences of nearly half the country’s population have emerged as a new source of revenue.

According to industry sources on June 11, Coupang sells data analyzed from users' purchase and search big data to Rocket Delivery sellers, who use the direct purchase service, for a fixed monthly fee. Coupang has more than 30 million monthly users, and every day, over 15 million people visit Coupang to search for or purchase products, leaving behind a massive trove of customer data.

Kim Jungmin (pseudonym), who has been active as a Coupang seller (third-party seller) for several years, said, "For 'premium' data that is highly useful for commercial purposes, the price exceeds 10 million won per month, and for even higher-quality information, you need to negotiate the purchase price separately with the category manager, so in reality, the price is essentially whatever they ask for."

"Increasing accuracy"...Paid big data service for Rocket Delivery sellers

Previously, Coupang introduced a paid big data analytics service for Rocket Delivery sellers in 2018. The data helps with marketing strategies by analyzing promotion strategies, product sales, and consumer purchasing behavior. The service is offered in several tiers, starting at a minimum of 1 million won, but as the amount of information collected has grown over the years, the sales price is believed to have increased as well.

On AI-based online platforms, information about consumers who purchase or show interest in products has become a powerful marketing tool. Both online and offline sellers offer discount coupons or additional benefits to attract customers to their own malls and encourage them to sign up as members. This is a strategy to collect data and expand product sales through targeted advertising.

Kim emphasized, "Coupang's AI algorithm is so detailed that it can break down how many minutes it took for a specific customer to complete a purchase after adding an item to their cart. For sellers, this data is extremely useful because it allows them to set up targeted ads for specific groups, such as women or people in their teens and twenties, and to reference which products are most effective for advertising at particular times."

For Coupang, this information also generates significant additional revenue. According to the consolidated audit report released by Coupang's Korean subsidiary last year, the company’s product sales increased by 12.8% compared to the previous year, while service sales and other sales increased by 87.9% and 49.8%, respectively, during the same period.

Direct purchase product sales (30.6798 trillion won), which account for 80% of Coupang's total, refer to products purchased directly from manufacturers. Service revenue (6.3643 trillion won), which is rising rapidly, includes logistics service fees for the entire process of receiving and shipping customer orders at logistics centers, advertising service revenue, and brokerage commissions. Other revenue (1.2548 trillion won) comes from services such as Rocket Fresh, membership programs, Coupang Play (an online video service), and fees for dining order and delivery services.

Amazon’s third-party seller service revenue grows sharply...Advertising effectiveness based on consumer data also expected

The potential for Coupang’s vast customer data to become a solid revenue stream can be seen in Amazon’s performance. Last year, Amazon’s online store revenue was $247 billion (about 337.4 trillion won), accounting for 39% of its total revenue. This figure grew 7% from the previous year ($231.9 billion). Online store revenue refers to the amount Amazon earns by directly purchasing and selling products, similar to Coupang’s Rocket Delivery.

Next, 'third-party seller services' revenue was $156.1 billion (about 213.3575 trillion won), accounting for 24.5% of the total. This includes fees from external sellers on the Amazon platform, revenue from fulfillment services such as shipping and storage, and revenue from selling consumer data accumulated by Amazon to sellers. Last year, this segment grew by 11%, far outpacing the growth rate of the online store segment. Notably, Amazon's advertising revenue grew by nearly 20% last year, likely due to increased targeting accuracy based on user data.

Coupang sellers also actively use Coupang's advertising products to maximize their sales effectiveness. In guidebooks and online communities for Coupang sellers, tips for increasing advertising effectiveness are shared like a 'manual.' The most basic form is 'CPC' advertising, which operates on a cost-per-click basis. When a product is searched for on Coupang, ads are displayed in specific areas of the screen, and the advertising cost is determined by the number of clicks by buyers. If a seller sets a target return on ad spend (ROAS) and budget, Coupang’s algorithm automatically optimizes the ads accordingly.

An industry insider emphasized, "Just as consumers receive various product recommendations and make repeated purchases through Coupang's algorithm, sellers must utilize automated recommendation advertising services to ensure their products are chosen among countless competitors."

Coupang's products are automatically sorted by delivery region in the auto sorter. Provided by Coupang