SEOUL -- CJ Cheiljedang, South Korea's iconic food company well-known for its heat-and-eat cooked rice products and frozen Korean-style dumplings, has made a foray into Chinese ecommerce platform Aliexpress.
The online shopping mall operated by China's ecommerce platform Alibaba Group has become one of South Korea's favorite online shopping services thanks to its wide range of affordable products shipped directly from Chinese sellers to South Korean customers. Aliexpress is aggressively targeting the South Korean ecommerce market by attracting customers with 10-day international shipping promotions and hefty discounts.
According to Wiseapp, a smartphone application market analyst firm, there were more than 8.1 million South Korean users of Aliexpress' smartphone app in February 2024, up 130 percent from the same period in 2023. The most used ecommerce service was Coupang, the South Korean counterpart of Amazon, and Aliexpress was the second-most popular shopping app.
Aliexpress started selling CJ Cheiljedang products through a dedicated channel for South Korean customers. CJ's instant rice, dumplings, and heat-and-eat Korean-style soups are available through the Chinese ecommerce platform. To capture more South Korean consumers, Aliexpress operates a special shopping section called "K-Venue" for South Korean customers purchasing homemade products.
Through the K-Venue section, customers can receive a free three-day delivery service. Aliexpress is partnering with other South Korean sellers in other sectors such as fresh groceries, seafood, and vegetables to increase its market share in South Korea's ecommerce market. Normally, South Korean shopping mall operators charge a fee of about 3,000 won ($2.2) for parcel deliveries.
