Kurly rolls out one-hour delivery service in western Seoul

The operator of Market Kurly has launched its quick commerce "Kurly Now" service offering delivery within one hour.

Kurly launched a trial run of its quick commerce service, named Kurly Now, on Tuesday. Customers will be able to place orders for around 5,000 items in 15 categories and can expect to get them delivered within an hour. [KURLY]

Kurly, the operator of e-commerce platform Market Kurly, launched its quick commerce service offering delivery in an hour on Tuesday.

Dubbed Kurly Now, the new service promises delivery within around an hour of an order being placed. Customers will be able to place orders for around 5,000 items in 15 categories that include groceries, ready-made meals, daily necessities and cosmetics. The service is available seven days a week, and orders can be made between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The minimum purchase amount is 15,000 won ($11), with free shipping on orders of 50,000 won or more. First-time users will receive a coupon for free delivery as long as they buy more than the minimum amount.

For now, deliveries can only be made to some neighborhoods in western Seoul, including Namgajwa-dong, Bukgajwa-dong, Mangwon-dong, Seongsan-dong and Yeonnam-dong, as well as Jeungsan-dong in northern Seoul.

Deliveries can also be made to certain areas in Seogyo-dong, Yeonhui-dong, Susaek-dong and Sangam-dong.

Kurly's quick commerce service Kurly Now [KURLY]

A spokesperson for Kurly explained that the western part of the city was chosen for the trial run due to the diversity of household structures there presenting a prime place to collect data, as well as a relatively younger demographic offering a customer base to tap into.

"Quick commerce services are more popular with younger people," Kurly's spokesperson said. "Kurly has an established customer base with people in their 40s and 50s, and we are trying to extend the brand's reach into the demographic of people in their 20s and 30s."

Kurly will extend the service to other areas in the capital after operations stabilize in the first trial run locations, and will also increase the selection of items.

“Kurly Now’s service will be expanded to other promising areas in Seoul by the end of the year,“ said Lee Jung-eon, head of Kurly’s service innovation team.

The company aims to gain a competitive edge through the sales of its Kurly Only products — which consist of its private brand (PB) products and items that can only be bought through Kurly, and includes the platform’s popular meal kits.

Its Kurly Now service will compete with domestic quick commerce platforms such as B Mart and Yomart as well as neighborhood market chain Homeplus Express, which all promise delivery within an hour of ordering.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]