Coupang flies high with premium membership service

[Photo by Kim Ho-young]

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. is gaining popularity with its premium membership service that offers a wide range of benefits with a low monthly subscription fee of 4,900 won ($3.7).

According to Coupang on Tuesday, it had about 21 million active customers that made at least one purchase as of the fourth quarter of 2023. The average purchase amount stood at 416,000 won per customer.

When it comes to Coupang WOW members, they enjoyed benefits worth about 100,000 won with 400,000 won to 500,000 won worth of purchases over three months.

The benefits include unlimited free shipping, free returns, and access to other services offered by Coupang, such as Coupang Eats and Coupang Play.

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon and Han Yubin]

Rocket Fresh, a next-day delivery service exclusive to WOW members, is also popular as it delivers fresh food items for free the next day for orders worth more than 15,000 won.

Other online shopping malls such as 11Street and Gmarket charge consumers 3,000 won in delivery fee for orders.

“Last year, we provided WOW members with benefits and cost savings worth $3 billion,” said Kim Bom-suk, the founder of Coupang, during the company‘s earnings call for the fourth quarter ended December.

Industry insiders noted that years of high inflation have prompted customers to choose Coupang’s affordable membership program.

Korea’s consumer prices rose 5.1 percent in 2022 and 3.6 percent in 2023.

“WOW membership has become an essential tool for consumers to cope with the financial strain during years of heightened inflation,” said Lee Eun-hee, professor of consumer studies at Inha University,