SEOUL, February 09 (AJP) - South Korea’s dominant internet platform, has rolled out same-day grocery delivery in partnership with fresh-food unicorn Market Kurly, stepping up efforts to capitalize on mounting reputational troubles at e-commerce leader Coupang.
Under the expanded service, Naver and Kurly’s joint grocery platform, Kurly N Mart, began offering same-day delivery on Monday. Orders placed between 11 p.m. the previous day and 3 p.m. on the same day are now delivered before midnight. The option applies to both Kurly N Mart and Kurly’s main platform.
Previously, Kurly N Mart focused on early-morning delivery, with orders placed by 11 p.m. arriving by 8 a.m. the following day. While that service remains in place, the addition of same-day delivery is expected to ease pressure around order cutoffs and encourage more frequent purchases.
The new delivery window will initially operate in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, with plans for nationwide expansion.
Naver said Kurly N Mart, launched in September last year, has recorded average monthly transaction growth of more than 50 percent. January transaction volume surged more than sevenfold compared with September.
Fresh produce transactions rose 82 percent over the same period, while meat sales climbed 74 percent. Ultra-fresh items such as eggs, milk and tofu posted particularly high repurchase rates. After five months of operation, top-selling products shifted from meal kits and ready-to-eat foods to a broader mix including produce, seafood and meat, reflecting growing demand for quality and freshness.
Sales of fast-moving consumer goods such as toilet paper, detergent and toothbrushes also jumped more than fivefold, indicating that Kurly N Mart is increasingly used for routine grocery shopping.
Repeat purchasing has strengthened as well. The repurchase rate reached 60 percent, roughly double the level recorded in October. Naver attributed the rise in customer loyalty to synergies with its membership program, including lower thresholds for free delivery and additional benefits.
More than 90 percent of Kurly N Mart users are Naver Plus members, the company said. The number of “core regulars” who used the service at least 10 times over five months was about 70 times higher among members than non-members. Around 80 percent of transactions are generated through the Naver Plus Store app, underscoring the steady shift toward mobile-based grocery shopping.
Naver’s expansion comes as rival platforms benefit from weakening confidence in Coupang following last year’s massive data breach.
According to data from IGAWorks’ Mobile Index, new installations of Naver’s shopping app surged to 935,507 in January, up more than 147,000 from December and the highest level since June. Over the same period, Coupang’s app installs fell to 467,641, down nearly 60,000 month on month.
Meanwhile, market tracker Wiseapp.Retail reported that Coupang’s monthly active users declined to 33 million in January, down about one million, or 3.2 percent, from December. The drop was nearly ten times larger than the previous month’s decrease.
Industry analysts say the figures reflect eroding consumer trust following the November breach that affected almost all of Coupang’s more than 33 million users.
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