E-MART(139480) joined Coupang's delivery platform Coupang Eats, a competitor, and rolled out a quick commerce service. The move is seen as a strategy to scale the quick commerce business by expanding sales channels via an external platform while maintaining its own instant delivery system.
According to the retail industry on the 4th, E-MART has been running a pilot quick commerce service on Coupang Eats since on the 23rd at six stores, including the Chang-dong, Wangsimni, and Mok-dong locations. Consumers can order E-MART's fresh food, processed food, and household goods from the "Grocery/Shopping" menu on Coupang Eats.
An E-MART official said, "We have been operating a Coupang Eats quick commerce pilot test at six stores since on the 23rd to expand customer touchpoints and convenience," adding, "Based on the results, we plan to gradually expand the participating stores within the year."
The partnership is interpreted as E-MART diversifying its quick commerce sales channels. E-MART is currently operating quick commerce services at about 100 stores on Baemin and 88 stores on SSG.com's "Baro-Quick."
E-MART began collaborating with external platforms by joining Baemin's grocery/shopping service in Nov. 2024. About 1 year and 9 months later, it also joined Coupang Eats, pushing to expand consumer touchpoints. The industry says the collaboration is meaningful because Shinsegae Group and Coupang have been leading players competing in Korea's retail market over e-commerce, logistics, and memberships.
Separately from joining external platforms, E-MART is also strengthening its own quick commerce service. Through SSG.com's "Baro-Quick," it uses E-MART stores nationwide as logistics hubs and runs a service that quickly delivers ordered items based on in-store inventory.
Coupang Eats, which grew by focusing on food delivery, is also expanding into the grocery segment. After launching the "Grocery/Shopping" service early last year, it has been increasing the onboarding of retailers such as convenience stores, corporate super markets (SSM), and hypermarkets, leveraging delivery app users. It is a move to evolve into a platform that spans everyday life beyond food delivery.