Coupang's purchase vouchers (coupons) paid out as compensation for last year's personal data leak are nearing their expiration date. With marketing and effectiveness debates continuing before and after the payout, attention is again focusing on coupon usage rates and impact as the validity period ends.
According to the industry on the 14th, the deadline to use the compensation coupons that Coupang paid to customers affected by last year's personal data leak is the 15th. About 33.7 million people affected by the leak must use the coupons by that date. For about 165,000 people for whom additional leaks were confirmed during the investigation, the usage deadline is expected to differ.
The coupons, distributed sequentially early this year, consisted of 5,000 won for all Coupang products, 5,000 won for Coupang Eats, 20,000 won for Coupang Travel, and 20,000 won for R.LUX. Because relatively unfamiliar services like Travel and R.LUX were included alongside Coupang and Coupang Eats, marketing controversy arose even before the payout. Skepticism grew that the move aimed to draw users to new services rather than provide practical compensation.
There was no shortage of consumer complaints during coupon use. Depending on membership tier, service, or product, conditions such as minimum order amounts applied. Many reacted that if they bought items cheaper than the coupon amount, the difference would not be refunded, effectively making extra spending unavoidable. Some also said popular items were often sold out, reducing the perceived benefit.
With the coupon usage deadline approaching, the notification method also came under fire. Coupang has been informing users of the deadline for unused coupons via website notices and text messages. During this process, messages were sent even to users who had withdrawn, prompting interpretations that the company was inducing re-enrollment. However, Coupang said the procedure did not differ from standard notices about coupon and point expirations.
Figures related to the impact of coupon distribution are not expected to be disclosed after the usage period ends. Internally, the company is tallying usage rates and expense, but it has no separate plans to release them externally. Even if related costs appear in future results, they are unlikely to be separately broken out as the effect of coupons.
According to the compensation plan disclosed by Coupang Inc., Coupang's parent company, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the related expense amounts to about $1.2 billion (about 1.7768 trillion won). Coupang specified that the coupons are applied by deducting them from the selling price and revenue for each transaction.
Inside and outside Coupang, there is a view that coupon distribution likely led to some increase in user inflow. In particular, even if services like R.LUX were used only once to exhaust the coupons, they may have enjoyed a base-expansion effect by boosting service awareness and then leading to repeat use and additional expenditure.
In fact, as Coupang's total number of users and payment amount rebounded, the so-called "Talpang (leaving Coupang)" trend is steadily calming. According to Mobile Index, Coupang's monthly active users (MAU) last month reached 35.03 million, up 1.39 million (4.1%) from the previous month, recovering to levels before the personal data leak. Coupang's MAU fell from 34.84 million in December last year, after the leak, to 34.01 million in January this year, and continued to decline in February.
Based on WiseApp Retail's tally, Coupang's estimated payment amount last month was 5.7136 trillion won, up 12% from the previous month. Prepaid balances are also rebounding. Coupang Pay's prepaid balance in the first quarter was 114.7 billion won, up 2.3% from 112.2 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year. At the time, the prepaid balance plunged 9.1% from the previous quarter due to the fallout from the personal data leak, hitting the lowest level in two years since the fourth quarter of 2023.
Prepaid balances refer to money that users deposit in advance on the platform for convenient transfers or payments. Because the "lock-in" effect that keeps users on the platform is strong, it is used alongside MAU as a key metric to gauge customer loyalty and the platform's competitiveness.