How South Korean consumers shop online

 

When thinking of South Korea, people often envision highly developed cities inhabited by tech-savvy citizens using the latest electronics to get their everyday tasks done. Let’s find out if that image is true, and if so, what does it mean for your brand in South Korean e-Commerce!

 

 

South Korea in numbers

South Korea is amongst the most developed economies in the world. With a GDP of $1,869.92 billion in 2024, the country is ranked the 14th biggest economy on the list led by the US, China, Germany and Japan.

 

 

Photo of the Seoul skyline at night

 

 

South Korea has a population of around 51 million people. 82.4% of them live in urban areas, and the median age is 45.6 years. The capital city is Seoul, with over 10 million inhabitants. Busan is the second largest city with 3,6 million citizens, while Incheon comes in third with 2,9 million people who call it home.

 

Regarding industry, we can safely say that South Korea is a highly industrialised country with a heavy focus on services (62%) and manufacturing (35%). Agriculture is responsible for a comparatively small amount (1.84%) of the country’s economic output.

 

South Korea is the world’s 5th largest exporter of goods following China, the US, Germany and Japan, with its exports reaching a total value of $705 billion. Incidentally, these four countries are also South Korea’s biggest trading partners.

 

As for imports, South Korea is currently the 10th largest importer with a value of $666 billion. Integrated circuits, refined petroleum, cars and broadcasting equipment are the country’s most often exported goods, while crude petroleum, integrated circuits, petroleum gas and coal briquettes are its most popular import products.

 

All the above data paints a rather promising picture of the South Korean economy and gives a great basis for international brands thinking of entering the country’s market. But what about South Korean e-Commerce?

 

 

South Korea and the internet

The starting point for e-Commerce is the internet, and South Korea has really good numbers to show in that department.

 

The country’s internet penetration is extremely high, reaching a value of 96%. In some demographics, this value is even higher: close to 100% of people between the ages of 20-59 regularly use the internet. For e-Commerce, this demographic is very valuable, as this age bracket represents most economically active people who regularly make purchasing decisions.

 

Regarding smartphone usage, South Korea displays similarly promising numbers. Almost all consumers in the age bracket of 10-59 possess a smartphone and use it for an increasingly large array of purposes. Moreover, young people aged 15-19 spend an average of 3 hours every day on their phones, which is an important fact for marketers to consider.

 

Find out all about marketing products online to Generation Z!

 

 

South Korean e-Commerce in numbers

Based on all of the above, it’s no wonder that e-Commerce is blooming in South Korea. The market is currently worth around $125.8 billion, with projections to reach $170.1 billion by 2027.

 

73% of consumers regularly shop online, spending about a monthly $100 in e-Commerce. In comparison, 35% of German consumers make purchases online for over $100 a month, while 44% of US shoppers do the same, the rest spend less in both countries. The most popular commodities bought online are groceries, fashion and electronics. Interestingly, the market segment of fresh food and beverages alone occupies around 30% of all annual online sales.

 

Discover Ubuy, a platform facilitating cross-border sales in many categories, including food!

 

Another fact that international brands may find useful is the language habits of South Koreans. While the country’s national language is Korean, and it’s definitely important for brands to supply information in the local language, around 80% of South Koreans speak some level of English. This may make it easier for you to launch an initial contact with your target audience in South Korea.

 

 

Omnichannel behaviour

South Korean consumers display a classic omnichannel behaviour. Shoppers like to browse products in physical stores, and then go online and find better deals for their chosen goods.

 

Indeed, when asked about their main motivation for online shopping, the majority of consumers mentioned finding better prices online than in brick-and-mortar stores. This indicates a high price sensitivity, something worth noting.

 

| South Korean consumers have a a high price sensitivity

 

Regarding payments, the overwhelming majority of South Korean consumers prefer using credit cards (72%) while shopping online. E-wallets come in second with 17%. These methods require a high level of transaction security and data protection from online checkout systems to prevent the loss of sensitive data.

 

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Gen Z and e-Commerce

 

 

Most popular online marketplaces

When it comes to online marketplaces, South Korean consumers seem to prefer local over international. Let’s take a look at three of the most popular platforms in South Korea.

 

 

Coupang

 

Screenshot of the homepage of coupang.com

 

 

Referred to as the Amazon of South Korea, Coupang is an all-around marketplace offering a wide range of products from groceries to fashion, electronics, car parts, beauty products and even travel tickets.

 

With 278 million monthly visits and a revenue of over $1 billion, Coupang is South Koreans’ favourite online marketplace.

 

 

Naver Shopping

Similarly to Coupang, Naver Shopping is a domestic general marketplace offering all kinds of products, including fashion, beauty, pet care, groceries, home appliances and a great deal on Netflix memberships.

 

Naver Shopping comes in second in the category of online shopping, with 92.6 million monthly visits and around 497 million revenue.

 

 

Screenshot of shopping.naver.com displaying Naver’s homepage

 

 

SSG.com

With 48.1 million monthly visitors, SSG.com is the fifth most popular online marketplace in South Korea behind Coupang, Naver Shopping, Gmarket and Olive Young.

 

An all-around marketplace like the others, SSG is short for Shinsegae Group, a corporation operating shopping malls, department stores, TV shopping channels as well as wholesale and retail trading hubs both on- and offline.

 

 

Screenshot of the homepage of ssg.com

 

 

Successful marketing strategies for the South Korean market

It’s needless to say your marketing strategy has to be personalised to your brand, depending on your existing brand image and the nature of your products/services. However, there are certain general pointers you can take into consideration when preparing your market entry to South Korea.

 

 

Local influencers and social media

As with marketplaces, South Koreans seem to like local social media platforms. Besides the ubiquitous Instagram and Facebook used by 48.6% and 16.7% of the population respectively, South Koreans flock to Naver Band (13.1%) and Kakao Story (10.2%). This latter belongs to the Kakao Group, a company which also owns the most popular messaging app Kakao Talk, frequented by 87% of the population.

 

| Kakao Talk is used by 87% of the South Korean population

 

Do some research and check out which platforms your target audience favours. And while doing that, keep an eye out for local influencers who would be a good fit for your brand’s next influencer marketing campaign.

 

Learn all about the influencers who promote fake products on social media!

 

 

Mobile-first strategy

As you can see from the above numbers, smartphones are increasingly present in South Korean consumers’ lives. Why not make the most of this and experiment with a mobile-first marketing strategy? This could be the quickest way to select target audiences.

 

 

Localisation and cultural adaptation

As the South Korean language, customs and culture differs greatly from what you’re used to in the Western markets, it’s important to adapt your communication strategies to better connect with local consumers. Don’t fall into the trap of “what works at home will work here,” or “what works in China/Singapore/Japan will work here.” Take the time to get to know the market and the culture you’re entering.

 

 

Picture of blooming trees in Busan

 

| Don’t fall into the trap of “what works at home will work here”

 

 

Pricing strategies

South Koreans are very price-conscious and like to shop for great deals. Focusing on price optimisation may be a helpful strategy to catch the eye of consumers in search of the best deals. Bear in mind that the favoured payment method of shoppers is currently credit cards.

 

 

Optimisation for local search engines

Naver is not only a marketplace and social media platform but also the most popular search engine with over 75% market share in South Korea. Therefore, focusing your SEO strategies on Naver may lead your target audience to you quicker than other search engines.

 

 

Screenshot of search.naver.com’s homepage

 

 

Fast service and delivery

South Korean consumers are used to fast and efficient service with minimal delivery times. This means that offering them a product that will arrive in 4-14 business days may not be attractive enough. Operating a fulfilment centre in the country, or working with a local business partner can be effective ways to solve the problems created by distance and ensure a successful entry into the market.

 

 

Online brand protection strategies for South Korea

“A new market usually means different legislative practices. This also affects your IP rights in South Korea (and any other new market you may choose to enter). To get the best possible protection for your trademarks and copyrights, it’s advisable to register them in South Korea.”

• Oliver, Managing Director at globaleyez

 

Unfortunately, registering them alone is not enough; you also have to monitor them to ensure that nobody is using your IP-protected assets without your consent.

 

Our marketplace, social media, domain and image monitoring services cover all corners of the internet to detect any infringements. Whether a picture, an ad, a marketplace listing, a social media post or an entire fakeshop domain, we’ll detect it and report back to you about the unauthorised use of your IP assets.

 

If we need to gather more information about the origins of the products or the identity of the seller, we recommend a test purchase. Buying your product from a South Korean online or offline shop ensures that we learn everything there is to know about its origins.

 

OSINT, or Open Source Intelligence research is another great tool to learn more about fraudsters who steal your revenue. We can collect and analyse information about the perpetrators and record our evidence in court-admissible reports.

 

Finally, we offer to enforce your rights and ensure the removal of the infringing content (e.g. product listing, picture, ad, domain, etc) from the internet.

 

 

Conclusion

The South Korean e-Commerce market can present your brand with great opportunities. However, make sure to protect your brand and your invaluable IP assets during a market entry as well. That’s not an easy feat, especially considering the endless to-do lists you may face during the process.

 

Therefore, our advice: when entering a new market, take your online brand protection experts with you! Contact us to learn more about how we can ease your market entry to South Korea, or any other market in the world.