The so-called 'Coupang More' advertisements, which cover some online posts and lead clicks to Coupang links, are set to disappear in the future.
According to the related industry on the 17th, Coupang's marketing affiliate system, 'Coupang Partners,' recently notified users that it would not allow advertisements that cover content and lead clicks to Coupang effective Feb. 6.
Coupang Partners is Coupang's marketing system that allows individuals to earn money by linking Coupang's product links on personal social media (SNS) such as blogs, cafes, Facebook, and Instagram or corporate websites. It has been in operation since July 2018.
By joining Coupang Partners and placing links or banners for products or services sold on Coupang on their websites, users can receive 3% of the Coupang revenue generated. According to the industry, some people have reportedly earned 150 million won annually through Coupang Partners.
However, as the money-making became overheated, cases of misuse occurred. This includes covering content with ads or creating deceptive banners that say 'back' but lead to Coupang links when clicked. There have even been instances of Coupang ads being attached to low-quality content, such as pornography. Consequently, posts sharing methods to block Coupang pop-up ads have circulated among internet users who felt inconvenienced.
In response, Coupang decided to establish advertising standards under the pretext of providing a user-friendly and positive healthy advertising experience. Starting from next month on the 6th, it will prohibit 'More' banners that cover part of the content to induce clicks on Coupang and 'Floating Banners' that follow the scroll and cover the text to induce clicks. This means that even if revenue is generated through 'More' banners or floating banners in the future, it will not be recognized as revenue.
Coupang stated that this advertising method could lead users exposed to the ads to have a negative advertising experience with Coupang, which does not align with Coupang's service value that prioritizes customer experience, and proposed users transition to new advertising formats by setting a period for improvements until the 5th of next month.
The reason Coupang has banned the 'More' advertisements, which it had allowed for about seven years, is interpreted as a judgment that it has secured loyal customers stably.
Coupang's growth in monthly active users (MAU) is showing signs of slowing. In October last year, the MAU even declined. However, the number of paid membership in Wow Membership has continued to increase from 14 million members in 2023. According to the industry, it has been reported that despite Coupang raising the subscription fee from 4,980 won to 7,890 won last year, the number of Coupang members did not decrease but slightly increased.
Coupang's revenue is estimated to have surpassed 40 trillion won last year from about 31 trillion won in 2023. This indicates an increase in the average order value of loyal customers. Consequently, Coupang is focusing on strategies to increase the average order value rather than attracting new customers, and the ban on 'More' advertisements is also seen as part of this strategy. Recently, Coupang has also been enhancing its offerings by launching a luxury beauty specialized application (app) R.LUX.
A Coupang official noted, 'As cases of misuse of Coupang Partners have increased, there has been a lot of opinion that we need to internally purify ourselves,' adding, 'There is a possibility of negatively affecting Coupang's image in the long run, so we decided not to allow this type of advertisement in the future.'