Competition in quick commerce (instant delivery) across retail is heating up. Services that had centered on e-commerce are spreading across traditional offline retail channels. As delivery hours and coverage areas expand, the time from order to arrival is also getting shorter, to around one hour.
According to the industry on the 21st, convenience stores CU and GS25 recently joined hands with Coupang Eats to launch 24-hour quick commerce service. As late-night delivery demand grew, they expanded operating hours from the previous 10 p.m.–3 a.m. to 6 a.m., effectively establishing a 24-hour delivery system.
CU is providing 24-hour delivery centered on Coupang Eats-partner stores in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, Gwangju, Busan and Daejeon. GS25 also started service at about 1,000 stores in Seoul·Gyeonggi and the six major metropolitan cities. The delivery range will be expanded to all areas where Coupang Eats begins 24-hour operations.
Other convenience store operators are also accelerating the introduction of 24-hour delivery. 7-Eleven is already offering 24-hour delivery at some stores through Baemin, and starting next month it plans to begin service through Coupang Eats as well. E-MART24 is also reviewing an expansion of delivery hours.
Quick commerce, which had been driven by e-commerce companies such as Coupang, NAVER, Kurly, and SSG.com, is spreading across the offline retail industry. Quick commerce is a service that delivers immediately upon order. It initially remained at same-day delivery, then evolved to half-day and three-hour delivery, and recently has moved into competition around one-hour delivery windows.
GS Retail is running quick commerce not only through GS25 convenience stores but also via its GS The Fresh supermarkets. Big-box retailers are also responding to the market by expanding delivery hubs and product selections. E-MART currently operates quick commerce linked with NAVER and SSG.com at more than 80 stores, and plans to expand to 90 stores in the second quarter. The number of items handled has grown from about 6,000 initially to around 12,000 now.
Homeplus Co. has expanded its quick commerce business centered on its supermarket (SSM) segment, Homeplus Express. According to Homeplus Co., as of the end of last year, 223 out of 293 Homeplus Express stores nationwide (about 76%) serve as quick commerce hubs.
Asung Daiso Co., a fixed-price household goods chain, recently transitioned its pilot quick commerce into a full service. The delivery area, which had focused on the three Gangnam districts, was expanded to all of Seoul, and weekend and holiday delivery also began. CJ Olive Young is operating a quick commerce service called "Today Dream," which delivers within three hours of ordering.
Department stores have also joined the quick commerce race. Chicor, a beauty select shop operated by Shinsegae, is piloting a quick commerce service in partnership with Coupang Eats. If you order Chicor products through the Coupang Eats application (app), you can receive delivery within one hour.
The domestic quick commerce market is growing rapidly. According to global market research firm Statista, the domestic quick commerce market is expected to expand from about 4.4 trillion won last year to about 6 trillion won by 2030. A market that was around 350 billion won in 2020 has grown more than tenfold in five years.
A BGF Retail official said, "As contactless consumption and demand for instant delivery increase, quick commerce sales are steadily rising," and added, "From the perspective of retail channels such as convenience stores, it helps compensate for the limitations of fixed trading areas of offline-based stores, and since it operates around minimum order amounts, it also plays a positive role in improving average order value."