This undated photo, provided by GS Retail, shows a deliveryman carrying packages for delivery services provided by convenience store GS25.
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major discount stores, convenience stores and e-commerce companies are making various attempts to shorten their delivery service time from one or a half day to as short as one to three hours or even 30 minutes.
GS Retail Co., launched its ‘super-speed delivery’ service in January, using its GS25 convenience stores across the country as cold storage warehouses as well as a place to pick up goods. The average delivery time for this service is no more than 17 minutes.
Since early this year, discount store chain Lotte Mart has been testing a relay delivery service centered on its outlet in Jamsil in Seoul. With this service, Lotte Mart shortened the delivery time from one day to less than two hours.
Instead of delivering goods to the doors of customers, Lotte Mart’s delivery workers deliver goods only to regional logistics bases. The last-mile delivery is conducted by contracted delivery companies specializing in motorbike and bicycle deliveries.
Large supermarkets called super supermarket (SSM), which are smaller than discount stores, launched a one-hour delivery service in collaboration with professional delivery service companies.
Homeplus Express, smaller version of hypermarket chain operator Homeplus Co., launched a one-hour delivery service in February in partnership with delivery app Vroong.
The average delivery time is 45 minutes, with some deliveries completed in as little as six minutes.
Lotte Super also joined hands with app-based logistics platform in February to launch a one-hour delivery service for the Gangnam area in Seoul. With this service, the company has been delivering goods ordered between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. in less than one hour.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
