100 Traditional Markets Gain 210,000 KakaoTalk Friends Through Digital Transformation

Kakao's corporate foundation Kakao Impact announced on the 26th that the 'Our Neighborhood Regular Market' program, conducted together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and MKYU, has completed its 2023 training course and held an awards ceremony for outstanding markets.

Kakao's corporate foundation, Kakao Impact, announced on the 26th that the 'Our Neighborhood Regular Market' program, conducted together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, and MKYU, has completed its 2023 educational course and held an awards ceremony for outstanding markets.
[Photo by Kakao]

Based on the number of Talk Channel friends, message sends, and post creations, a total of 11 merchant associations and 62 merchants from 27 markets were selected. Awards were divided into Grand Prize, Gold Prize, Silver Prize, Bronze Prize, and Special Prize, with certificates, plaques, and special prizes given. Considering the busy schedules of traditional market merchants, the awards ceremony was held by visiting each market directly.

Yoo Wan-hee, head of the merchant association of Cheongnyangni General Market in Seoul, who received the grand prize by participating in the Our Neighborhood Regular Market program, said, "Thanks to Kakao, we gained confidence that even traditional markets can undergo digital transformation," adding, "We will strive to keep pace with changes and continue to develop amid the rapidly changing digital environment through participation in Our Neighborhood Regular Market."

Our Neighborhood Regular Market is Kakao's representative win-win program aimed at supporting the digital transformation of traditional markets. This year, the program provided digital training to a total of 100 markets through the 'Store Talk Channel Support Project (20 markets)' and the 'Market Representative Talk Channel Support Project (80 markets)'.

This year, 901 merchants and merchant associations from 100 markets participated in the training, receiving basic education on installing and operating Talk Channels. As a result, a total of 1,001 KakaoTalk channels were created, securing 214,181 KakaoTalk channel friends.

The digital training completion rate was 100% for merchant associations and 99.7% for merchants. A satisfaction survey conducted among merchant associations and merchants showed that 100% of merchant associations and 96% of merchants were satisfied. When asked if KakaoTalk channels contributed to increasing visitors, 75% answered "Yes."

Kakao plans to continue focusing on the digital transformation of traditional markets through the Our Neighborhood Regular Market program next year as well. While the program previously accepted applications only during a limited period through a public contest process, it will introduce a year-round application system in 2024.

It also aims to improve the quality of education and support methods to enhance the digital capabilities of individual stores. A cooperation model between local universities and traditional markets will be supported by linking Kakao business tools, including Talk Channels.

Yook Sim-na, head of Kakao's ESG Business Office, said, "Kakao's activities for the digital transformation of traditional markets will continue next year," adding, "We will do our best to bridge the digital gap in traditional markets by presenting a program that has grown both quantitatively and qualitatively through improved support methods and advanced educational materials."

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