Hyper Corporation Acquires Korea's Only 'TikTok Lite' Mobile Coupon Supplier

Hyper Corporation is acquiring the sole domestic mobile coupon supplier for TikTok Lite, a short-form video platform used by 4.5 million people. On the 20th, Hyper Corporation announced that it will acquire 100% of the shares (600,000 shares) of Gift Letter, a mobile gift certificate specialist company, for 8 billion KRW. The scheduled transfer date is October 2, and Hyper Corporation plans to merge Gift Letter.

Founded in 2013, Gift Letter is the largest digital coupon issuer in Korea, with over 400 partner brands and more than 800 collaborators. The number of supplied products reaches 6,323.

Since signing a direct mobile coupon supply contract with TikTok headquarters in September 2021, Gift Letter has been growing rapidly. It is currently the only domestic mobile coupon supplier contracted with ByteDance, the operator of TikTok Lite. The annual transaction volume is expected to increase from 19 billion KRW last year to around 50 billion KRW this year as TikTok Lite supply expands.

According to IGAWorks’ ‘Mobile Index,’ TikTok Lite’s monthly active users (MAU) reached 4.58 million as of August. This is close to the main app TikTok’s 4.66 million users. TikTok Lite is a lightweight version of the main app, focused on video viewing, and was launched domestically in December last year.

Gift Letter is expanding fee discounts and mobile coupon services in partnership with the three major telecom companies. Additionally, through its subsidiary Coupon Bay, it offers a service where users can directly trade coupons.

A company official stated, "With the increase in TikTok Lite transaction volume, we are targeting 50 billion KRW in transaction volume and 3 billion KRW in operating profit this year." In fact, Gift Letter issued over 20 billion KRW worth of coupons to businesses in the first half of this year alone. It closely collaborates with major domestic retailers such as Kakao Gift, Lotte Home Shopping, Shinsegae Mall, AK Mall, Gmarket, Auction, and Coupang.

Hyper Corporation is focusing on the fact that senior generations have emerged as major players in online shopping after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although seniors were not familiar with digital devices in the past, they are now leading the online shopping market as they embrace contactless consumption.

One reason for the acquisition is the increasing number of seniors spending leisure time on platforms like YouTube and Netflix. TikTok Lite is known as an 'app-tech' (app + finance) method that offers cash rewards. Since users can earn more points by inviting more friends, it attracts significant interest from the senior generation.

A company representative said, "Seniors have strong purchasing power and show loyalty by rarely switching platforms once they start using them. Through this acquisition, we plan to enhance convenience for seniors and secure various infrastructures using the networks and mobile technologies we have acquired."

After merging with Gift Letter, Hyper Corporation plans to develop various products tailored to the senior lifestyle. As Korea’s first mobile coupon for seniors, it is expected to have a market-leading effect. Additionally, for the upcoming Hyper Life Care platform, the company plans to implement ▲ mobile coupon and voucher technology ▲ expand B2B and B2C mobile solutions ▲ strengthen the digital commerce platform.

Furthermore, based on Gift Letter’s distribution network and mobile gift certificate infrastructure, Hyper Corporation intends to improve user experience on the Hyper Life Care platform and introduce new features related to digital vouchers and commerce to enhance competitiveness in the market.

Lee Sang-seok, CEO of Hyper Corporation, emphasized, “This acquisition is an important step to strengthen the technology and market accessibility of the Hyper Life Care platform. We will actively utilize Gift Letter’s strong distribution network and partnerships to maximize the user experience of the upcoming Hyper Life Care platform.”

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