South Korea has a population of 51.78 million in 2020, making it the world’s fifth largest e-commerce market. It is also one of the first countries in the world to launch commercial 5G network services. Online shopping is very developed, with a penetration rate of 80%. The Korean e-commerce market is very diverse and fragmented. The most used e-commerce platform by Korean online shoppers is Coupang and its subsidiary CoupangEats, followed by Naver, Shinsegae and its acquisition of eBay Korea, BaedalMinjok and 11Street.
Consumption characteristics: South Korea has a female population of more than 25 million, which is the main group of cross-border online shopping consumers. Women’s clothing, beauty, accessories, etc. are very popular products. Koreans mainly pay online by credit card. The credit card penetration rate for online shopping is close to 60%, and white-collar workers hold 3.9 credit cards per capita.
Fashion is the largest market segment in South Korea, so clothing is the largest category in South Korea, followed by grocery products, electronic products, health and beauty products, furniture, toys, food, beverages, etc. In 2021, there were more than 46 million social media users in South Korea, and the number of social media users exceeded 90% of the total population. Therefore, sellers should pay more attention to information on Korean social media, as most Korean consumers obtain information through social media resources before making a purchase decision.