Coupang to tighten free Rocket Delivery rules for nonmembers

Coupang will tighten its free Rocket Delivery rules for nonmembers starting in mid-April.

The Coupang logo is seen in this illustration taken on Feb. 11, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Coupang will tighten its free Rocket Delivery rules for nonmembers starting in mid-April.

The company said in a notice on Monday that the minimum order requirement for free Rocket Delivery for customers without paid Wow subscriptions will be changed to 19,800 won ($13) after coupons and instant discounts are applied.

Rocket Delivery is Coupang’s signature next-day delivery service that offers free shipping on eligible items above a minimum order amount.

Under the earlier policy, customers without Wow subscriptions could receive free shipping as long as the product’s listed price exceeded 19,800 won before coupons or card discounts were applied, meaning the final payment amount could fall below that threshold.

With the new policy, free shipping will not be applied if the final payment amount is below 19,800 won, even if the product’s original price exceeds that level.

The change appears aimed at reducing losses from Coupang’s Rocket Delivery service as the company faces slowing performance following the large-scale personal data breach last year.

However, subscribed members will still be able to use Rocket Delivery without a minimum order requirement.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY JUNG SI-NAE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]