SEOUL -- In an effort to gain a competitive edge in South Korea's ecommerce market dominated by Coupang, the South Korean counterpart of Amazon, major ecommerce platform Gmarket opened a low-temperature logistics center for fresh goods delivery service. Customers can now order fresh groceries through the ecommerce giant's overnight delivery service.
Overnight and one-day delivery services garnered explosive popularity in South Korea during the pandemic. When people were grounded from crowded public areas such as shopping malls and mega-marts, they used ecommerce platforms such as Coupang and Kurly to order fresh goods and daily necessities such as vegetables and toilet paper. When orders are made before midnight, items are normally delivered to customers' doorsteps before dawn.
According to Kyobo Securities, South Korea's overnight delivery service market stood at 11.9 trillion won ($8.8 billion) in 2023, up 2,875 percent compared to 400 billion won in 2018. Coupang with more than 1,000 logistics centers across the country is the top player in the market followed by Kurly, specializing in fresh food ingredients, and SSG.com operated by South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae.
Gmarket said that the company partnered with Team Fresh (Ti:mf), a domestic cold chain network operator, to open a low-temperature logistics center to offer overnight fresh goods delivery services. The change in the delivery service system will also provide convenience for sellers as Gmarket will pre-purchase their items which would be stored at the cold chain center. Previously, fresh goods sellers would have to deliver items through existing parcel delivery services which takes at least two days.
Low-temperature logistics centers are a part of cold-chain system networks that consist of local logistics centers with cold storage areas and refrigerated trucks. A cold chain delivery system allows sellers to send packages of fresh goods to customers without the worry of items deteriorating. Coupang offers a wider range of instant delivery options for customers who pay a monthly fee of 4,990 won for a premium subscription.
According to Gmarket, the cold chain network will offer a wider range of products to customers and ease the burden of sellers by reducing the delivery process.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
