"Cumulative Usage Surpasses 1.5 Million" Convenience Store Delivery Rapidly Growing at CU in Mongolia

Mongolia CU Delivery Service (Photo by BGF Retail).

Convenience Store Delivery Started in Mongolia Last May
Demand Increased Due to COVID-19, Growing Rapidly by 30% Monthly
From Phone Orders to Delivery Function Added in Mongolian CU Membership App
Delivery Sales Account for 25% at Malaysia CU

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The delivery service of the 'K-Convenience Store' at Mongolia CU has surpassed 1.5 million cumulative uses.

BGF Retail, which operates CU, announced on the 21st that the number of convenience store delivery service uses, which started locally in Mongolia last May by transferring the K-convenience store delivery service experience to its partner Central Express, has been rapidly increasing by more than 30% every month. Accordingly, Mongolia CU embedded the delivery service function directly into the Mongolian CU membership application to enable mobile delivery service usage just like in Korea.

The Mongolian CU membership app has secured loyal customers, with the number of downloads reaching about half of Ulaanbaatar’s population of 1.35 million. Instead of collaborating with local delivery specialists, they chose to add delivery services to their own app. BGF Retail stated, "We actively supported our partner with Korea CU’s delivery experience, including delivery-exclusive benefits such as point accumulation, stamp collection events, customer product reviews, convenience features, and app interface design composition." The effect of the K-convenience store delivery service appeared within a month. As the delivery service changed from the existing phone order method to mobile orders, making it easier and more convenient, the number of delivery uses surged by 249.7% compared to the previous month.

As word spread about CU’s app ordering method, Mongolia CU’s delivery service surpassed 1.5 million cumulative uses within one year of its launch in May this year. This means that an average of about 40 delivery orders per day occurred at all stores in Ulaanbaatar over the year. As the number of delivery service users steadily increased, the number of stores offering the service expanded from about 40 at the initial introduction to over 110, covering all Mongolia CU stores. The number of deliverable products also increased about 24 times, from around 140 to over 3,300.

Popular delivery items at Mongolia CU include ready-to-eat products (hot dogs, GET coffee, Mongolian steamed dumplings), dairy products, and triangular kimbap, in that order. Unlike Korea, where demand is high across various product categories, it appears that many customers mainly use convenience stores to solve their meal needs.

As Mongolia CU’s delivery service received explosive responses locally, inquiries for delivery service partnerships have also been coming from small business owners in other industries. The company said, "The Mongolia CU membership app is beginning to be recognized as a local delivery platform beyond convenience stores." Since last year, Mongolia CU has partnered with the local bakery 'JURUR' to provide cake delivery services.

Delivery services at convenience stores are also booming in Malaysia. Recently, due to the impact of COVID-19, delivery demand surged, and delivery sales at Malaysia CU account for about 25% of total store sales, establishing it as a core service.

Shin Jongha, head of BGF Retail’s Overseas Business Team, said, "CU’s delivery service has received great responses from local customers, providing another opportunity to widely promote the competitiveness of K-convenience stores in overseas markets. We will continue close collaboration with partners to further activate overseas business and lay the groundwork for CU to expand into more countries."

Meanwhile, Mongolia CU’s delivery service is available within a maximum walking distance of 30 minutes from 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM. Delivery is free for orders over 100,000 Tugrik (about 40,000 KRW), and the delivery fee is 2,000 Tugrik (about 800 KRW) for orders below that. Malaysia CU’s service uses Grab.

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