Amazon's entrance into S. Korean market to shake up industry
- 3 years ago
'유통공룡' 아마존 진출에...유통가 '초긴장'
The global e-commerce market has witnesses unprecedented growth this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
And now, the domestic market is about to experience a shake-up because the market's biggest player, Amazon, will be entering the South Korean market.
Park Se-young reports.
The world's largest e-commerce company Amazon has selected local firm 11th street as its stepping stone into the South Korean market, ...in a move that has caught industry watchers off guard.
Amazon is the number one e-commerce retailer in the U.S. and five other countries, ...whereas 11th street is ranked fourth in the domestic market.
But the Korean market is full of potential.
The domestic e-commerce market size grew from 34 billion U.S. dollars in 2013 to over 100 billion dollars in 2018.
The market is expected to reach nearly 150 billion dollars in 2020.
And some forecasts say Korea will become the third largest e-commerce market in the world next year ...after China and the U.S.
"This is surprising news. To Amazon, it would have been an attractive option to test market responses while minimizing risks."
Although this may not bring any immediate changes, the industry is watching closely ...because major local firms like Coupang have been benchmarking Amazon's business strategies.
"This is probably not welcome news for market leaders like Naver and Coupang. Korean companies are expected to cooperate with each other and increase their combined size."
In fact, Korean retailers have already been signing some big deals to boost their competitive edge in the industry.
Naver has signed with the country's top delivery company CJ Logistics to improve fulfillment capabilities, ...and GS Retail has merged with GS Home Shopping to grow into an integrated on-and-offline commerce platform.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people's shopping habits, ...resulting in increasing competition among e-commerce retailers, and Amazon's entry will only make the market more competitive.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
The global e-commerce market has witnesses unprecedented growth this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
And now, the domestic market is about to experience a shake-up because the market's biggest player, Amazon, will be entering the South Korean market.
Park Se-young reports.
The world's largest e-commerce company Amazon has selected local firm 11th street as its stepping stone into the South Korean market, ...in a move that has caught industry watchers off guard.
Amazon is the number one e-commerce retailer in the U.S. and five other countries, ...whereas 11th street is ranked fourth in the domestic market.
But the Korean market is full of potential.
The domestic e-commerce market size grew from 34 billion U.S. dollars in 2013 to over 100 billion dollars in 2018.
The market is expected to reach nearly 150 billion dollars in 2020.
And some forecasts say Korea will become the third largest e-commerce market in the world next year ...after China and the U.S.
"This is surprising news. To Amazon, it would have been an attractive option to test market responses while minimizing risks."
Although this may not bring any immediate changes, the industry is watching closely ...because major local firms like Coupang have been benchmarking Amazon's business strategies.
"This is probably not welcome news for market leaders like Naver and Coupang. Korean companies are expected to cooperate with each other and increase their combined size."
In fact, Korean retailers have already been signing some big deals to boost their competitive edge in the industry.
Naver has signed with the country's top delivery company CJ Logistics to improve fulfillment capabilities, ...and GS Retail has merged with GS Home Shopping to grow into an integrated on-and-offline commerce platform.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed people's shopping habits, ...resulting in increasing competition among e-commerce retailers, and Amazon's entry will only make the market more competitive.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.