11st Picks 'CHEER UP' as the Keyword for 2020

From Win-Win Cooperation and Support for Small Business Owners
to Contactless, Unique Content and Services

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] “CHEER UP(Chieol Up)”

11st announced on the 21st that it selected CHEER UP as the keyword summarizing 11st for the year 2020. It reflects the achievements of continuous support activities and services that empower sellers and customers.

The keyword is derived from the first letters of English words representing Cooperation with local farms, Help small business, Entertainments in shopping, Easy product search, Replacement of face-to-face and offline shopping, Unique products, and Partnership.

The first is Cooperation. This year, 11st actively collaborated with local producers, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Seoul City, NongHyup, and other domestic local governments and cooperatives to expand sales channels for domestic agricultural and marine products, which were contracted due to COVID-19. MDs visited farms directly to plan exclusive products and consistently conducted cooperation with local governments through non-face-to-face MOUs, helping stabilize sales channels for about 1,000 local producers and achieving a win-win cooperation result of selling over 50 billion KRW worth of fresh food.

It also took the lead in supporting small businesses. The fast settlement service, first introduced by 11st in the e-commerce industry last October, settles payments to sellers who ship on the order day the next day after delivery completion. From this month, the settlement amount ratio was raised to 90%. During last month’s ‘11th Festival,’ 75% of sellers who benefited from fast settlement on 11st responded that it helped their sales activities. 48% said it enabled smooth product procurement.

Entertainments in shopping. This year, as non-face-to-face shopping became mainstream, live broadcasts adding unique fun emerged. 11st conducted ‘Tuna Dismantling Show,’ ‘Trot Performance,’ ‘Jeju Tangerine Field Live Broadcast,’ and ‘BMW Live Broadcast.’ Over 100 live broadcasts have been held this year, and now they operate twice daily on a fixed schedule. The corner ‘Kkukkkuk,’ which collects vivid video reviews from general customers, is steadily growing. The related transaction amount generated through Kkukkkuk reviews increased about 2.4 times recently (June to October) compared to early this year (January to May). The cumulative number of reviews is about 310,000.

Easy product search. 11st diligently carried out service improvements for optimal shopping that is easier and faster. In July, 11st added a ‘Multi-tab (TAB) search function’ to its mobile app, allowing users to quickly check search results tailored to their shopping preferences such as fast delivery priority, lowest price preference, and review reliability by entering search terms. In July, the PC site was renewed. Transaction volume through the PC website increased more than 5 to 6 times compared to before the renewal, and during the last 11th Festival, transaction volume surged about 17 times year-on-year.

Efforts to replace face-to-face and offline shopping were also made. The ‘Gift Sending’ service launched by 11st in September has steadily increased transactions through the non-face-to-face Chuseok and 11th Festival peak seasons and the year-end gift season. From the 1st to the 17th of this month, transactions rose about 2.7 times compared to the previous month, reaching about 9 times higher than the early stage after launch. By actively attracting car buyers online, consultations for new car sales and long-term rental purchases were conducted with Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz Mobility Services, SsangYong Motor, Peugeot, Citro?n, BMW (Kolon Motors), and others. The number of cars contracted and delivered through 11st this year reached 1,800 units.

Unique products created by COVID-19, such as ‘Mumokjeok Bihaeng (Sightseeing Flight)’ products and real-time overseas travel ‘Lan Line Tour’ online, also attracted attention. New home party cultures like ‘Home Drinking’ and ‘Lan Line Year-end Party’ led to a surge in alcoholic beverage goods, with limited edition goods in collaboration with several liquor companies such as HiteJinro and Jangsu Makgeolli. Additionally, limited edition products launched in collaboration with various food and beverage companies like Lotte Confectionery, Paldo, Ottogi, and Jardin received positive responses from the MZ generation.

Major partnerships with various brands stood out this year. 11st consistently signed Joint Business Partnerships (JBP) with over 40 domestic and international brands representing each category, such as Dyson, Bodyfriend, Coca-Cola, and Nongshim, securing exclusive planned products. In April, Emart Mall was also added to strengthen same-day delivery services. Based on brand collaborations, 11st achieved the highest domestic e-commerce single-day transaction record of 201.8 billion KRW on the 11th Festival day.

11st said, “This year, the distribution industry underwent significant changes due to COVID-19, and e-commerce emerged as the center of distribution. 11st created opportunities to grow together by supporting sellers in difficult situations and providing better shopping environments for customers who found face-to-face shopping difficult, overcoming challenges together.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.