Coupang announced on the 12th that it has begun operating a fresh food early morning delivery service in the Jeju region.
According to Coupang, Wow members in the Jeju region can receive free early morning delivery by purchasing over 15,000 won worth of fresh food by midnight for delivery by 7 a.m. the next day. Currently, there are over 400 types of major fresh food items available for free early morning delivery in the Jeju region. Coupang plans to increase the number of orderable items to more than 1,700 in the future.
Coupang will also expand the early morning delivery of fresh food to the entire province, starting with major population-dense areas, including Jeju and Seogwipo. In particular, in addition to fresh food, over 8,000 general products such as instant noodles, daily kitchen supplies, electronics, beauty products, and stationery will be available for early morning delivery, bringing the total number of service products to about 10,000.
Coupang invested approximately 20 billion won to establish a micro-fulfillment center (MFC) in Aewol-eup, Jeju, which can store, ship, and deliver fresh food in the early morning. The MFC, based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, predicts customer order demands and stores popular products for immediate delivery upon order. Coupang is the first retail corporation to establish a logistics center capable of early morning delivery in Jeju. Recently, cold storage and freezing facilities for fresh food storage have also been added.
According to the actual delivery survey for Jeju (2022), the average additional delivery fee per order that Jeju residents bear for deliveries (starting from the mainland) is 2,160 won, which is an increase of 69 won compared to 2021 (2,091 won). The monthly delivery volume coming from the mainland to Jeju is about 2 million boxes. Considering the additional delivery fee per order (2,160 won), Jeju residents shoulder an additional delivery fee of 4.3 billion won per month and 51.8 billion won per year; however, Coupang Wow members can use free rocket delivery and unlimited fresh food early morning delivery without any delivery fee burden.
A Coupang official noted, "The free early morning delivery service for fresh food in the Jeju region is expected to dramatically improve the living conditions of the area," adding that "residents in Jeju will enhance their quality of life, while local agricultural, livestock, and fisheries businesses and small food manufacturers will establish a foundation for growth, resulting in a 'win-win' situation."