South Korea’s B2B e-commerce market has expanded nearly 20 percent, in 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, ranking fifth globally, according to a report published recently by the Agency for SMEs and Emerging Companies (KOSME, according to its acronym in English), based on data from market researcher eMarketer.
The value of local B2B e-commerce will grow to $90.5 billion by the year 2024.The agency said that despite a global economic crisis, the global B2B e-commerce market gained ground last year, thanks to an increase in “contactless” consumption triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak.
This year, global B2B e-commerce is expected to gain more momentum, while in China, it is likely that B2B eCommerce will account for more than half of total consumption nationally.
Two of the dominant B2B eCommerce sites in South Korea are marketplaces, 11Street and Gmarket A third site, Coupang, recently launched its marketplace and already has 25,000 sellers. Marketplaces, in other words, are popular in that country, as in Japan.
B2B ECommerce grew significantly over the years in South Korea. Coupang is the one that is currently selling the most. The company is valued at $ 5 billion. It has raised $ 1.5 billion in investment since it was launched in 2010, making it the top-funded startup after Flipkart and Uber.
The largest category in South Korea is travel-related products and services, followed by clothing and fashion, as well as household goods.
Sales in that country, according to eMarketer, were 37 billion dollars in 2015, which is behind China (563 billion), the United States (350 billion), Great Britain (94 billion), Japan (79 billion), Germany (73 billion) and France (42 billion).
South Korea is a country where the use of smartphone is growing popular by the day. This has led to an explosive growth in mCommerce sales, which is expected to be quadruple in the next decade. In the United States, mCommerce sales will be 142 billion. Coupang generates 70% of its sales through smartphones. All B2B eCommerce companies in South Korea have mobile apps and websites.
Table of Contents
How are sites designed in South Korea?
The B2B eCommerce sites have a design more similar to those of the United States, with less information density. This is different than on sites in Japan, where the density of information is higher. Sites in Korea also target global customers and therefore many have multi-language capabilities.
Rewards and discounts
South Korean B2B eCommerce sites use discounts to drive traffic and gain higher market shares. Coupang, for example, claims to sell diapers at the lowest price in the country. It is even believed to subsidize them by investing marketing resources, even offering 50% discounts to first-time buyers.
Payment methods include local credit cards
Consumers in South Korea use credit cards as a form of payment in B2B eCommerce. On average, each household has 4 bank cards. In addition to the obvious Visa and MasterCard, there are only South Korean brands, which are accepted at B2B eCommerce.
Bank transfers are another common form of payment. Electronic wallets are frequently used in mCommerce, as users link their card or bank account to this type of wallet.
Fast shipping
South Korea has a high population density, and its small size allows for fast shipping. Coupang delivers the same day. They have 14 wineries, and they plan to grow to 21, to be even faster.
Gmarket also delivers quickly. However, since it is a marketplace, it first makes sellers send their products to their warehouses, consolidates those that are from the same client in a package and sends them. This process takes 2 days, but customers prefer it.
Here are the top 10 retail B2B eCommerce sites in South Korea:
1. eWorldTrade
eWorldTrade is a relatively new business-to-business website that has quickly established a strong reputation. eWorldTrade takes a novel way to collaboration for both suppliers and buyers. Reckon Media LLC of the United States owns the B2B platform. Its parent firm has extensive experience in digital media and technology-related services.
The headquarters of eWorldTrade is located in Dallas, Texas. The premier business-to-business portal aims to assist Chinese dealers, suppliers, and manufacturers on their path to affiliation. eWorldTrade is the world’s fastest expanding network, with thousands of dealers, sellers, suppliers, vendors, and manufacturers joining daily to meet potential clients from all over the world.
On a daily basis, eWorldTrade registers thousands of sellers from a variety of nations and localities. According to business analysts, this B2B platform will soon overtake the major B2B platforms in terms of market share. The eWorldTrade enables firms to resale a diverse range of services and products. The platform has shown to be beneficial for a variety of small and medium-sized businesses in China, providing an excellent opportunity for globalisation.
2. GMarket
Gmarket is a Korean online marketplace that sells clothes, beauty products, and other items. It has been around for over 10 years and has grown to be one of the largest B2B e-commerce sites in Asia. In 2013, it was ranked as the 5th most visited website in South Korea by Alexa Internet rankings. Gmarket offers shipping within Asia and internationally with various different shipping options including UPS Express delivery which delivers packages to international customers within 3 days after order placement. There are also many payment methods available such as credit card or wire transfer.
3. Auction
Auction is a marketplace for buying and selling goods. They provide sellers with the tools they need to grow their businesses, while giving buyers access to high-quality items at affordable prices.
This is an online auction site that enables you to buy and sell goods in just about any category imaginable, including clothing, furniture, cars & trucks, jewelry & watches, collectibles, coins & currency and much more. You can list your item for free or browse what’s already available on the site before you decide what you want to purchase or sell.
4. 11Street
South Korea is a country with strong ties to tradition. 11STREET is the online marketplace that South Koreans turn to for their traditional goods. It has been around since 2008 and currently offers over 3 million items from more than 50,000 sellers. There are several categories on the site including food & drink, culture, beauty products, household goods, pets supplies and children toys among others.
The website also features an English language option which makes it easier for international buyers to navigate through its catalog of items. 11STREET’s success can be attributed to its ability to stay relevant by adding new styles without being too trendy or out of date as well as providing quality customer service in Korean only via email or phone call 24 hours a day.
5. Coupang
Coupang is one of the most popular Korean B2B e-commerce sites, with over $2.5 billion in sales in 2013 alone. It has grown rapidly since its start as an online bookstore and now sells everything from clothes to food. With a 7% commission fee on each sale, Coupang earns around $170 million per year which helps fund their free shipping service – providing customers with fast and inexpensive deliveries at any time of day or night. The company also offers 24-hour customer support to make sure that shoppers are always satisfied with their shopping experience.
They have the most annual sales in Korea and are the second largest online retailer in Asia. In 2015, they surpassed Amazon as the world’s most visited shopping site by monthly visitors. Their main competitors include Ebay, Alibaba, and Rakuten. Coupang has been criticised for not being transparent with their numbers but this doesn’t seem to be hurting them too much as they continue to grow at an exponential rate each year.
6. WeMakePrice
WeMakePrice is a company that helps people find the best prices on products. They help you find the lowest price for your desired product by comparing between different product vendors. They provide price comparisons, reviews, and detailed information about each vendor so that you can choose what’s right for you! You can also save money with their coupons or deals to make sure your wallet doesn’t suffer as well!
They have access to millions of products from thousands of vendors so we are confident in being able to offer you the best deal on anything! It also features a comprehensive comparison engine will also let you filter results based on dimensions, weight, color or any other specifications so that it’s easy for everyone.
7. InterPark
InterPark is one of the largest B2B ecommerce retail sites in all of South Korea. They have hundreds of thousands of products on their website and they also have a pretty robust presence across many buildings and shopping malls.
If you are interested in shopping, InterPark virtually has everything that you could ask for.
8. Lotte
Lotte is a Korean retail and chemical company that is most well-known for its food and beverage product lines. Lotte also has a large department store chain in Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and the United States. Founded in 1948 by Shin Kyuk-hoi as one of the first five chaebols (business conglomerates), it grew to be among the top three such groups in South Korea with interests spanning from petrochemicals to confectionery.
Lotte is one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in South Korea. They are best known for their chocolates, biscuits and ice cream products. Lotte was founded on September 10, 1948, by Shin Kyuk-hoi in Seoul’s Gangnam District with $1 million won from his father’s inheritance. The company went public on July 22nd 1983 and had an IPO price of KRW 3700 (USD 3000). It has since grown to be the world’s sixth-largest confectionery manufacturer after merging with Korean Confectionery Company Ltd., or KCCO, which specializes in chewing gum production. Today it operates over 100 factories globally with 11 factories in South Korea alone.
9. Danggeun Market
Danggeun Market is a large-scale market in Daegu, Korea. It has over 2,000 stalls and shops with an enormous variety of goods. It’s open 24 hours a day so you can shop anytime! The Danggeun Market is the biggest wholesale market in South Korea. You’ll find everything from fresh produce to clothing to furniture there! There are also food courts where you can eat dinner after shopping all day long.
They have recently started a B2B ecommerce site, showing listings from sellers in a six kilometer radius. Danggeun Market was founded in 2015 by Gary Kim and Paul Kim. Prior to this, they both worked at KakaoTalk. So, as you can imagine, Danggeun Market has some big people behind it.
10. Naver
Naver is a South Korean search engine with news, maps, email and social networking services. It is one of the most popular sites in Korea to use when looking for information or connecting with friends through social media. Naver was founded by Lee Hae-Jin in 1999 as an online portal site to provide people with content from various sources including internet portals operated by other companies. The name “Naver” comes from the word “navigate.”
Recently, Naver has been expanding its business into many different countries outside of Korea, such as China and Japan. This gives them more opportunities to grow their company even further!
Naver, also known as “NAVER Corporation” is a Korean company that was founded in 1999 and the company’s main service is search. They offer other services such as maps, email, video streaming and more. Naver has over 160 million global users who visit the site every month to find information on products and services. The company’s headquarters are located in Seoul, South Korea.
Naver is a Korean-based technology company that offers various services such as web search engine, news feed and mobile apps marketplace.
The South Korean B2B ecommerce industry is on the rise, as is evident based on the information provided above. There are now a plethora of different startups and brands that are generating a fantastic return and many investors are also looking to jump on the bandwagon and generate greater returns from a quickly expanding market that continues to defy expectations.
