Coupang reported record annual revenue of 41.29 trillion won last year, a 29% increase from the previous year. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver has officially entered South Korea’s e-commerce arena with a dedicated shopping app, sparking industry speculation about whether it can effectively challenge Coupang’s market leadership.
The tech giant unveiled its Naver Plus Store app on March 12, marking its formal transition into an open market platform operator. While industry experts acknowledge Naver’s potential, many suggest it could take considerable time before it poses a serious threat to Coupang’s established dominance.
The numbers tell an impressive story for both companies. Naver recorded a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of 50.3 trillion won last year, surpassing combined figures from competitors like Gmarket (approximately 14 trillion won), 11st (7 trillion won), SSG.com (6.3 trillion won), AliExpress (3.7 trillion won), and Market Kurly (3 trillion won) by 1.5 times. This places Naver as the only platform comparable to Coupang’s GMV of 55.09 trillion won, according to WiseApp/Retail estimates.
In terms of market share, based on Statistics Korea’s reported online shopping transactions of 242 trillion won last year, Coupang leads with 22.7% while Naver follows closely at 20.7%. Naver’s membership base is also substantial, with an estimated 400,000 paid subscribers based on fourth-quarter subscription revenue of 53.6 billion won. This figure could be significantly higher considering that up to four family members can share each membership, which offers 5% points back on purchases along with other discounts.
Coupang, meanwhile, reported record annual revenue of 41.29 trillion won last year, a 29% increase from the previous year, while maintaining operating profits above 600 billion won for the second consecutive year.
Industry observers point to key differences in operational models that could impact the competition. While Naver operates as an open market platform relying on external partnerships for sales and delivery, Coupang has built a comprehensive direct-purchase and delivery system. Coupang has invested 6.2 trillion won over the past decade to establish Korea’s largest e-commerce logistics network and plans to invest an additional 3 trillion won by next year to expand its “Rocket Delivery” service to remote areas, potentially reaching the entire population of 50 million.
“Coupang’s greatest strength lies in its ability to control every process from product intake to last-mile delivery,” noted an industry insider. “This creates an inherent efficiency gap in product, inventory, and delivery management compared to open market platforms.”
Despite Naver and other competitors introducing seven-day delivery services and same-day/next-day delivery options to compete with Coupang’s Rocket Delivery, questions remain about whether they can match the customer experience. Coupang maintains a strong lead with over 14 million paid membership customers.
“The importance of delivery capabilities in the online shopping market will only increase,” said an e-commerce industry representative. “The competition between Coupang and Naver will ultimately come down to which platform can attract more customers from its rival, and it appears challenging for Naver to gain the upper hand in this battle.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
