Loyal consumers, price competitiveness key factors Top players in Korea's retail sector further solidified their market dominance in the first quarter, as more consumers opted to stay with familiar shopping platforms rather than explore new channels.   Emart dominated the superstore market, while Olive Young stood out in the beauty product sector and Coupang led the e-commerce space. Their strong market leadership reflects a broader trend of large companies securing more loyal customer bases through greater price competitiveness.   Dominating the e-commerce sector in the first quarter was Coupang. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company posted 11.5 trillion won ($7.9 billion) in sales in the January-March period, achieving a 21 percent year-on-year jump to set a new high in its quarterly sales.   According to data analysis by IGAWorks, consumer transaction volume on Coupang’s online shopping platforms during the period is estimated to have reached 9.3 trillion won. This accounts for 63.3 percent of the combined volume of the country’s top 10 e-commerce companies, up 6 percentage points from the previous year.   Coupang stocks its own merchandise and runs a logistics network consisting of 200 local logistics centers, under 46 fulfillment centers and nine key logistics centers nationwide. The system allows the company to offer its Rocket Delivery service, which guarantees fast delivery.   Naver, the country’s largest online portal, also posted record sales of 788 billion won in e-commerce during the same period, a 12 percent jump from the previous year. The company in March launched Naver Plus Store, a new online platform dedicated to online shopping. Unlike Coupang, it does not keep its own merchandise and does not run its own logistics infrastructure.   While Coupang and Naver saw record-breaking sales, SSG.com saw sales decline in the market during the period, with 357 billion won, a 13.7 percent drop from the previous year. Gmarket sales declined 21 percent to 200 billion won, and 11ST dropped 30 percent to 114 billion won. Coupang’s market leadership is also reflected by its rate of consumers coming back. IGAWorks showed that while 83 percent of transactions at Coupang platforms in February were made by users who had shopped there before, the figures for SSG.com, Gmarket and 11st were all below 50. Coupang also topped with the average purchase amount per consumer among the industry players. In March, it was 99,000 won for Coupang. SSG.com was 98,000 won, Gmarket 40,000 won and 11ST 33,000 won. Emart, the superstore market leader, has taken advantage of a financial setback for Homeplus, the second-largest company in the market, by attracting consumers who were concerned about Homeplus’ troubled cash flow and corporate rehabilitation process. Emart posted 4.6 trillion won in sales during the period, a 10.1 percent jump from the previous year. Emart, a division under Shinsegae Group, also runs convenience store brand Emart24 and supermarket chain Emart Everyday. The company said its number of customers in the first quarter jumped two percent from the previous quarter. Lotte Mart, the No. 3 player in the market, saw its quarterly sales decline 3.4 percent from the previous year to 1.2 trillion won. In the country’s health and beauty sector, CJ Olive Young posted 1.2 trillion won sales during the first quarter, up 14.4 percent from the previous year, and cemented its market dominance. According to IGAWorks, Olive Young’s total transaction volume during the period accounted for 67.4 percent of the entire sector. Popularity among tourists to Korea, as well as local consumers, largely contributed to the sales. The company, which curates and sells beauty products, has expanded its market globally, boosted by the reputation of its offerings being effective and affordable. Experts suggest the market leaders boast high consumer trust, a strong consumer base and financial strength, allowing them to maintain competitive pricing. These advantages, experts added, are likely to grow more significant as rising prices prompt more consumers to scale back their spending. (ICE SEOUL)

Fonte notizia: The Korea Times