Generational shifts, online shopping trends
The rising sales volume of online shopping in the country is unsurprising given its high levels of mobile phone internet user penetration. The share of consumers who shop using their mobile devices in South Korea stood at 92.1% as of 2021, and internet users in their 20s had the highest percentage of online shoppers across age demographics. As younger generations of shoppers become old enough to take part in the market, their greater adeptness with technology in comparison to older generations is also expected to further influence market trends. Further, the convenience and the entertainment that is afforded by these mobile shopping providers can act as prime movers for consumers. “Boredom” came second to “A sudden need for an item” when people were asked about their main motivations behind using mobile shopping applications.Food services and paid membership
Food services had the largest transaction value among commodity types via mobile shopping in 2021, and the most popular mobile shopping applications that year were Naver Shopping and Coupang. It is not uncommon for next day or same day delivery to be offered on these applications, and consumers are willing to pay extra for such services. In 2021, just over half of all mobile shoppers were found to have used paid membership services. Among these paid membership services, Rocket WOW, a service by Coupang, had the highest usage rate within mobile shopping apps in South Korea that year.Digitalization of the market
The trends we see in mobile commerce is indicative of the digitalization of the market in the broader sense. Mobile applications that are linked to credit cards or debit cards came second to credit cards as the most popular form of payment when shopping online in South Korea. Of these, the most popular mobile easy payment applications in 2021 were Naver Pay and Kakao Pay. As payments online become easier and faster, traditional methods of payment such as bank transfers may become less prevalent. Indeed, the share of mobile easy payments in total digital payment transactions in the country saw on average quarterly increases from 2019 to 2021. The start of COVID-19 during this time may have contributed to this rise as more people started relying on mobile applications and digital payments due to quarantine-related restrictions.
