Coupang Eats Temporarily Expands "Free Delivery" to Non-Members

Coupang Eats to Fully Cover Customer Delivery Fees

Coupang Eats has decided to temporarily extend its free delivery benefit, previously offered only to WOW members, to all regular members. The intention is for Coupang Eats to cover the entire delivery fee for customers, thereby supporting increased consumption.

This move can also be interpreted as a bold strategy to attract new users and establish a new growth foundation in the stagnant delivery market. As Baemin, the market leader, will inevitably need to respond to protect its market share, competition is expected to intensify once again.

On May 21, Coupang Eats announced that it will run a promotion providing free delivery benefits to regular members until August. The promotion will apply to all regions nationwide where Coupang Eats operates.

Coupang Eats explained that by shouldering the delivery fees, which have been an obstacle for customers using delivery services such as food orders and grocery shopping, customers can experience reduced price pressure, while partner stores can expand their sales opportunities without incurring additional costs.

This strategy from Coupang Eats is seen as closely related to the recent slowdown in the growth of the delivery platform market. According to Mobile Index by IGAWorks, the number of Coupang Eats’ monthly active users (MAU) last month was 13.16 million, a decrease of 2.9% compared to the previous month. Baemin, which remains number one with 23.41 million users, also saw a 2.8% decline.

In order to overcome this situation, Coupang Eats has fully deployed its signature free delivery service, which was a key factor in elevating the platform to the second-largest player in the delivery market. Starting at the end of March 2024, Coupang Eats began offering free delivery to WOW members, boosting its user base from around 6.26 million to over 10 million within ten months.

Baemin is also expected to take countermeasures to avoid losing users. An industry insider commented, "Given the developments after Coupang Eats previously introduced free delivery, it will be difficult for Baemin to simply wait and see."

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