[Weekend Money] "Talpang March" Where Did Consumers Who Left Coupang Go?

Shift in Shopping Landscape After Coupang Data Breach
Naver Shopping Transaction Volume Rises 28% in February
Kurly Partnership Launches Midnight Star Delivery... "The Talpang Alternative"

Where have consumers who left Coupang gone? According to an analysis by the securities industry, the so-called "Talpang" (Coupang withdrawal) effect is concentrated solely on Naver and Kurly.

Samsung Securities stated this in its report titled "Talpang Effect Concentrated on Naver and Kurly," released on the 6th, citing data from Wise Retail.

Naver's shopping transaction volume in February increased by 28% year-on-year, continuing its strong growth following January (+32%). During the same period, Kurly's transaction volume also grew by 17%, confirming the effects of its partnership with Naver. In contrast, Coupang's growth rate stood at only 10.4%, suggesting that the aftermath of the personal information leak—which directly triggered the Talpang trend—is still ongoing.

Oh Donghwan, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, "Platforms such as Gmarket, Auction, 11st, and SSG showed only limited growth in transaction volume," adding, "The Talpang effect is focused exclusively on Naver and Kurly."

In Kurly's case, thanks to its partnership with Naver Shopping, it achieved a transaction volume of 3.5 trillion won and operating profit of 13.1 billion won last year, marking its first annual turnaround into the black. Oh commented, "KurlyNmart, launched last September, saw its monthly transaction volume surge by over 50% every month since launch due to Naver-driven traffic," adding, "Through the partnership with Kurly, Naver has also strengthened its competitiveness in fresh food and improved membership loyalty. Kurly's growth is expected to enhance not only Naver Shopping's competitiveness but also the value of Naver's 5% investment stake in Kurly."

Furthermore, KurlyNmart—which Naver and Kurly jointly operate—launched the "Midnight Star Delivery" same-day shipping service last month to compete with Coupang's dawn delivery. Naver also introduced a beta version of its "Shopping Artificial Intelligence (AI) Agent" service in the Plus Store application. This service compiles data from Naver Cafe, blogs, and store reviews to help users find product information. Oh noted, "By narrowing the delivery gap, providing aggressive membership benefits, and supporting the AI Agent, Naver Shopping is creating differentiation from Coupang, so Naver's high growth is expected to continue."

Accordingly, Samsung Securities maintained its existing "Buy" investment opinion and a target price of 330,000 won for Naver (NAVER), a listed company, stating, "It is emerging as the only alternative in the Talpang trend." Oh added, "Based on strong revenue growth in commerce, Naver is expected to achieve stable sales and profit growth through 2026. With the recent share price decline, valuation attractiveness has increased. As long as external variables do not trigger a domestic economic downturn, Naver's competitiveness will remain valid."

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