800 Waiting in Line, "Aliexpress Is Amazing"... Record-Breaking Crowd at Seongsu Station Exit 3 [Reportage]

Aliexpress Opens Popup Store in Seongsu for Singles' Day
Over 800 Waiting on the First Day
"11-Second Shopping Cart Challenge" Draws Enthusiastic Response
Open to All Visitors on Site

"Ready, go!"

As soon as the signal to start was given, visitors holding red shopping baskets sprang into action. Armed with various tools such as exfoliating towels, green shovels, and insect nets, they quickly swept up ramen, snacks, toothpaste, hot packs, and more within the 11-second time limit. When the 11 seconds were up, sighs of disappointment could be heard from participants who wished they could have grabbed more. Meanwhile, some customers who managed to fill their baskets to the brim were all smiles, clearly satisfied with their haul.

On the afternoon of the 7th, visitors are participating in the "11-Second Shopping Cart Challenge" at the Aliexpress popup store in front of Exit 3 of Seongsu Station, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jae-Hyun Park

On the afternoon of the 7th, a record-breaking crowd gathered in front of Exit 3 of Seongsu Station in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. As soon as you turned right out of the exit, a massive red banner reading "11-Second Shopping Cart Challenge" immediately caught your eye. Even passersby stopped to peek into the store.

The Aliexpress popup store, held offline for the first time, was packed with people waiting in line. As of 1 p.m., more than 800 teams had taken waiting numbers, and the estimated wait time had reached 4 hours and 30 minutes (270 minutes). Lines started forming four hours before the store opened, and by the 11 a.m. opening, more than 200 teams were already waiting.

Aliexpress opened its first-ever offline popup store to celebrate the "11.11 Singles' Day," its biggest shopping festival of the year. The popup store, running for three days until the 9th, is themed around the "11-Second Shopping Cart Challenge." The event recreates offline a game where customers pay 111 won online and try to fill their shopping basket with as many items as possible within 11 seconds. The popup also features training elements for finger agility, dynamic vision, and reflexes, all essential to succeed in the challenge. An Aliexpress representative explained, "We designed this popup store like a training center for filling shopping baskets," adding, "We combined experiential elements and gamification to appeal to the tastes of Millennials & Gen Z."

Afternoon of the 7th, a panoramic view of the Aliexpress popup store in front of Exit 3 of Seongsu Station, Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jaehyun Park

11-Second Shopping Cart Challenge Stamp Flyer. Participate in various games and collect stamps to join the shopping cart event. Photo by Jaehyun Park

Inside the popup store, the design featured tracks reminiscent of a training center, and various games stood out. After entering and heading up to the second floor, visitors could play finger agility games using gaming devices, as well as a simple game where they used badminton rackets to place shuttlecocks into shopping baskets. After completing the three training games and collecting stamps, participants received a red shopping basket and could then head down to the first floor to join the "11-Second Shopping Cart Challenge." The popup store event is free for all visitors.

Visitor reactions were overwhelmingly positive. Customers who participated in the event commented, "Aliexpress is amazing," and "This is so much fun." The guestbook was filled with feedback like "Good," "So much fun," and "I like it." Won Soyoung, 28, who attended with her coworkers, said, "I often join popups in Seongsu, but this is the first time I've seen such an active event," adding, "I didn't know much about Singles' Day before, but this experience made it clear to me."

Lim Taejeong, 34, who waited two hours to enter, said, "I love that everything is free," and added with a smile, "I've always used Aliexpress, but now I want to use it even more often."

Visitors playing finger games at the Aliexpress popup store. Photo by Jae Hyun Park

Aliexpress plans to use this popup store to promote Singles' Day and attract Millennials & Gen Z customers. An Aliexpress representative explained, "This popup store is meant to promote Aliexpress's Singles' Day event, similar to Black Friday in Korea," adding, "We chose Exit 3 of Seongsu Station, the location most associated with popups, so that Millennials & Gen Z customers could experience it firsthand."

Recently, Aliexpress has been rapidly increasing its user base and expanding its influence in Korea. According to retail analytics service WiseApp·Retail, last month Aliexpress recorded 9,094,479 monthly active users (MAU), ranking second among major e-commerce apps after Coupang, which had 34,167,489 users.