South Korea is a pioneering online retail market worldwide

➡️ The food retail industry in South Korea has changed drastically since the opening of the first major discount store (E-Mart by Shinsegae Group) in 1993 and since the liberalization of the foreign-owned retail business in 1996.

Online retail is the sales channel with the highest growth rate, with an increase of 84% of sales in the grocery industry between 2014 and 2016, followed by convenience stores (53.5%). It is estimated that supermarket, hypermarket and department store sales will stagnate in the next few years. Instead, sales in online retail will continue to increase due to its advantage in the areas of flexibility and quality valued by consumers. Sales of traditional street vendors and small family shops are expected to continue to decline.

Suitable for:

• Urbanization in South Korea

The most important trends in product range conversion include home meal replacement products (HMR), fresh products, portioned products and own brands. Leading markets are also striving for more efficient promotions (online coupons, membership programs), stronger customer service (in-store service such as pharmacy, laundry and post office) and online shopping with delivery service.

Establishing online stores and expanding into foreign markets (mainly China and South Asian countries) are some of the key growth strategies of leading hypermarkets. Due to strong competition from online retailers, hypermarkets have also pursued aggressive low-price policies on key consumer products such as pork and instant noodles. Leading companies have also made significant changes to product range strategy through private labels, direct imports, home meal replacement products and direct sourcing from partner farms to enable growth.

Changes in consumer lifestyles coupled with the introduction of new information technologies have led to rapid growth in online retail over the years. In addition, the high population density and the high proportion of urbanized population (83% in 2015) provide a perfect environment for the development of online retail.

In 2016, total sales from online trading reached 47.83 billion euros. In recent years, working households have driven significant growth in online grocery retailers.

The value of food and drinks sold online increased by 97% between 2011 and 2016 (a growth rate higher than that of online retail as a whole), reaching approximately 261 euros per household in 2016. Drinks ordered online accounted for 13% of total internet retail sales.

South Korean consumers initially welcomed the cross-channel online options offered by established grocery chains on subways, such as: B. Tesco's HomePlus service. This allows commuters to scan groceries with their mobile phones and have them delivered to their homes. Many now prefer services such as Coupang and Tmon that allow them to quickly order fresh groceries online.

In the coming years, e-commerce for food and beverages is expected to continue to grow due to continued lower prices and improved services generated by intense competition in this sector. In particular, online retail should be an efficient distribution channel for imported specialty products that have limited but diversified demand.

Hypermart E-Mart is the largest discount chain in South Korea and focuses on completing the various sales channels within South Korea.
The focus here is, among other things, on the automated storage system from DAIFUKU .

Suitable for:

• Autonomous retail systems – E-Mart’s e-commerce strategy

According to estimates, online sales in the food industry generated sales worth EUR 5.76 billion in 2018. Sales are expected to grow by an average of 7.9% annually and reach a market volume of 7.81 billion euros in 2022.

In Germany, sales from online trading in the food and beverage industry are estimated at 1.26 billion euros in 2018 and are growing by an average of 11.4% annually.

In a global comparison, the highest sales are achieved in China (15.72 billion USD in 2018).

SSG.COM - http://www.ssg.com/
SSG.COM is an integrated company of two online shopping stores - Shinsegae Department Stores Mall and E-Mart Discounter Mall.

Suitable for:

• Autonomous retail systems – E-Mart’s e-commerce strategy

CJ O Shopping - http://minishop.gmarket.co.kr/cjmall0
Online Trading - CJ O Shopping is South Korea's first home shopping company. It is a subsidiary of the CJ Group and was founded in 1994. CJ Mall is the company's online shopping website.

GS Home Shopping – https://www.gsshop.com/index.gs
Online Trading – GS Home Shopping is one of the first home shopping companies in South Korea. It first introduced TV shopping in South Korea in 1994. Today the company is one of the largest online retailers.

Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corporation - https://www.hyundaihmall.com/Home.html
Online Trading - Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corporation is an online home shopping company in South Korea. It was founded in 2001.

Lotte Home Shopping – http://www.lotteimall.com/main/viewMain.lotte?dpml_no=1
Online Trading – Lotte Homeshopping is an online home shopping company in South Korea. It was founded in 2001 and has an annual turnover of over 29.19 billion euros. The company has 924 employees.

NS Shopping – http://nseshop.com/
Online Trading – NS Shopping is an important online home shopping company in South Korea. It was founded in 2001.

SK Planet - https://www.11st.co.kr/
Online Trading - SK Planet Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SK Telecom, founded in 2010, is an 'Internet platform' development company based in Pangyo, South Korea's Silicon Valley with offices in 8 countries. SK Planet was spun off from SK Telecom to focus on online trading.

Suitable for:

• South Korea – future market for renewable energies