The coffee bean supply company A, which has sold beans only through large distribution platforms, recently transitioned to a self-operated mall sales system due to rising fees and settlement delays.
The clothing enterprise B has been selling products on various marketplaces but felt it was difficult to convey the brand identity through these platforms. Therefore, it introduced and has been operating its self-owned mall since May this year.
Recently, small business owners and self-employed individuals are showing a clear trend of reducing their reliance on platforms like Naver and Coupang and strengthening the operation of their self-owned malls.
According to the online shopping trend survey by the National Statistical Office, the total transaction amount for general malls in the first half of 2025 decreased by 2.41% compared to the same period last year, while the total transaction amount for specialized malls increased by approximately 8.56% compared to the same period last year.
The reason online sellers are building self-owned malls is that it can lower the burden of fees. As of 2024, Coupang's product commission rates range from 4% to 10.8% depending on the category, and Naver Smart Store charges between 1.98% and 3.63% based on sales levels, while self-owned malls do not have separate fees for product sales.
A business administration professor, who requested anonymity, noted that "most businesses participating in Coupang find that when calculating profitability per channel, it converges to virtually '0'. High fees, forced promotions, and delayed payment deadlines make it challenging to generate revenue; however, if they exit, transaction volume declines, leading to a dilemma of losing economies of scale."
In the case of Naver, while commissions and conditions are relatively favorable, there are concerns in the industry that similar policies to those of Coupang may be implemented after large-scale promotions end, particularly as the search market share of Naver declines due to the spread of short-form commerce.
The ability to build an independent brand is also an advantage. Unlike platforms where multiple products compete for visibility and focus on price, a self-owned mall can concentrate only on its own products, which is beneficial for strengthening the brand. It is possible to independently design the UI and UX to enhance uniqueness and use the 100% data generated for tailored marketing and customer loyalty efforts.
Ryu Purum, Deputy Minister of the Platform SME Research Center at Kookmin University, said that when small brands that have grown from shopping platforms seek to establish independent branding, they utilize self-owned malls.
The background to the active establishment of self-owned malls is technological advancement. In the past, the cost of establishing a self-owned mall was around 1 million to 10 million won, making it difficult for small business owners and self-employed individuals with limited resources to introduce. Additionally, the monthly maintenance expenses were a significant burden.
Recently, self-owned mall construction services like Cafe24 and imweb have significantly reduced costs, attracting the use of services by self-employed individuals and small businesses. Cafe24 offers self-owned mall construction services for free, while imweb enables the establishment of a self-owned mall for a monthly fee ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 won.
The transaction amounts of the two corporations are also on the rise. In 2024, Cafe24's platform transaction amount reached 12.5 trillion won, marking a 10.1% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of sites opened by new customers of imweb has steadily increased from 130,000 in 2022, to 150,000 in 2023, and is expected to reach 220,000 in 2024.
However, online sellers are not completely halting their use of platforms. Platforms provide a stable store infrastructure helpful for initial operations when first starting online sales. Additionally, there are many buyers, which offers advantages in securing initial customers.
Consequently, sellers are adopting a strategy of first increasing their sales volumes and brand awareness through platforms, then linking their self-owned malls for growth, and ultimately operating independently as they scale. An industry insider noted that "businesses are continuing to utilize the advantages of platforms while seeking to establish their own brands through the introduction of self-owned malls."