Korea's E-commerce Boom: How to Enter Now as AliExpress Gains Ground

With the arrival of summer vacation and the off-season, the number of users of Korean e-commerce platforms fell collectively in June, while AliExpress grew against the trend, with the number of active users exceeding 9 million. This symbolizes the booming development of cross-border e-commerce in South Korea. So how can we seize the opportunity to enter the Korean market?

I. Current Situation of Korean Market

Before AliExpress joined, Coupang, Gmarket, and 11Street were the three giants in the Korean e-commerce industry. Some friends may not know the characteristics and differences of these four platforms. Let me introduce them to you:

1. Coupang

Features: A popular Korean e-commerce platform, especially known for its excellent logistics system.

Advantages:

• Rocket Delivery: One of the most notable features of Coupang is its “Rocket Delivery” service, which means same-day or next-day delivery.

• Powerful logistics system: Coupang has its own fully automated warehousing system and transportation network to ensure fast delivery.

• Coupang Pay: has its own payment system, providing consumers with a convenient payment experience.

2. 11th

Features: A major e-commerce platform in South Korea, providing a comprehensive shopping experience covering a wide range of product categories.

Advantages:

• Strong brand cooperation: Cooperate with many well-known domestic and foreign brands to provide authentic products.

• Rich product selection: covering multiple categories such as electronics, home furnishings, food, clothing, and beauty.

• International shopping support: 11st not only sells local products, but also supports cross-border e-commerce.

3. Naver Shopping

Features: The shopping platform of Naver, South Korea's largest search engine, mainly provides consumers with product search, comparison and purchase.

Advantages:

• Powerful search engine: With Naver’s powerful search engine function, users can search for products, compare prices, and view reviews from different merchants on the platform.

• User evaluation system: Naver Shopping emphasizes user evaluation and product rating system to help consumers understand the quality of products and the reputation of merchants.

• Naver Pay payment system: Naver Pay's convenience and security enhance consumers' payment experience.

4. AliExpress

Features: Mainly provide goods from China and other countries, the price is very competitive.

Advantages:

• Price advantage: Since the goods are mainly sourced from China, the prices of goods on AliExpress are usually very competitive. For price-conscious consumers, AliExpress is undoubtedly an attractive choice.

• Diverse payment methods: AliExpress supports various payment methods, including Alipay, credit cards, PayPal, etc., to meet the payment needs of different consumers.

• Offers and discounts: AliExpress regularly launches various discount activities, such as "Double 11" and "Black Friday", attracting a large number of price-sensitive consumers.

II. How to grasp the traffic in the Korean market?

1. Choose the right category

• Household daily necessities: Korean local household brands have a high premium, and consumers have a strong demand for “low-priced and practical” products.

• Pet products: The household pet ownership rate in South Korea exceeds 40%, and with the upgrading of humanized pet consumption, the demand for smart products and healthy food has surged.

• Outdoor equipment: Among South Koreans aged 20-40, 68% participate in camping/mountaineering activities at least once a month, and there is a great demand for affordable outdoor equipment.

2. Localized marketing strategy

• Language localization: Make sure your platform and product information are fully presented in Korean. Not only translation, but also cultural differences, expression habits and other details should be taken into consideration.

• Localization of payment methods: Korean consumers are very accustomed to using local payment systems, such as Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, Samsung Pay, etc. Providing these payment methods can greatly enhance the user’s payment experience and increase conversion rates.

• Localized advertising and marketing activities: Design advertising and marketing activities based on Korean festivals and culture. For example, during traditional festivals such as Seollal and Chuseok, merchants can launch specific promotions during these periods to attract consumers to buy.

3. Optimize traffic through search engine optimization (SEO)

• Naver SEO: Naver is the main search engine in Korea, not Google. Optimizing the algorithm and keyword ranking of Naver search engine is crucial to increase traffic. Remember to switch to a Korean IP to get more accurate keyword ranking data.

• Content marketing and blogs: Korean users are accustomed to learning product information, reading reviews or consulting others through social platforms such as Naver Blog and Naver Cafe. By creating high-quality content marketing, you can increase brand exposure and attract more local traffic.

• Social Media Optimization: Search engines such as Naver and Daum have also integrated social media content. Optimizing activities on social platforms (such as Instagram, YouTube, Kakao Story, etc.) will help drive traffic and increase exposure through sharing and recommendations.

4. Provide excellent customer service

• Customer service support: Provide Korean customer service and ensure that customer service can solve user problems in a timely and effective manner to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Quick response: Korean consumers attach great importance to convenience and quick response during the shopping process. Ensuring fast order processing, logistics tracking and after-sales service can improve user experience and promote word-of-mouth communication and repeat purchases.

5. Matrix account operation

• Multiple accounts on multiple platforms: Korean social media platforms are widely used, and multiple accounts on multiple platforms can intercept more traffic.

• Obtain local traffic support: To gain the trust of Korean users and grasp Korean hot spots, the account must have a stable and authentic Korean local residential IP.

You can choose IPFoxy real proxy service to simulate an independent real account environment, accurately obtain local traffic, and grasp local hotspots in South Korea. The multi-account matrix can help intercept more user traffic more efficiently and achieve precise marketing.

III.Conclusion

AliExpress's counter-cyclical growth in the Korean market has brought new opportunities for cross-border traders. Cross-border traders can choose appropriate strategies, seize the opportunity to enter the Korean market and expand their business.