Traditional markets are an essential component of Korean culture, but for the last couple years, they had been languishing due to the influence of large supermarkets and social distancing measures. Thanks to the opening of new sales channels through food delivery apps such as Coupang Eats, however, these traditional markets are finding new life online.
The Jeolla Side Dish Restaurant in Seoul’s Dogok Market is a representative example. As the name suggests, side dish restaurants in Korea sell kimchi, pickled eggs, fried vegetables, and a variety of other side dishes that go well with rice and other Korean mainstays. Jeolla Side Dish Restaurant proprietor Mi-im Jeong, 65, first joined Coupang Eats in November 2020, and a year later, her restaurant took over the No. 1 ranking for side dish restaurants on Coupang Eats nationwide. Through deliveries alone, which account for 30-40% of her total sales, Mi-im makes around 15 million won (around 11,700 dollars) in revenue per month.
“Because I’m older, I was afraid to receive orders since I was not used to using apps, but now I’m not concerned even if 10 cases come in at the same time,” said Mi-im. Indeed, at peak times, she finds herself juggling Coupang Eats order notifications every few minutes while also responding to customers in-store. Mi-im, who runs the store with her youngest brother Ok-rim, even recruited their other brother and daughter-in-law to help during busy times. She is very grateful for the boom in business, especially after the difficulties she faced during the pandemic.
When COVID-19 erupted in 2020, foot traffic through traditional markets slowed drastically. Jeolla Side Dish saw its sales plummet over 60%, leading Mi-im to look for new ways to support her family. Around the same time, she heard that there was a program run by Coupang Eats called the “Traditional Market Revitalization Project,” which helped traditional market vendors onboard the app and provided support of up to 7,000 won per order (delivery fee of 3,000 won and discount coupons of up to 4,000 won) to incentivize customer orders. Despite her concerns of navigating the unfamiliar world of online apps, Mi-im resolved to take the leap to overcome the crisis.
In her first month, sales were only 510,000 won (less than 400 dollars). Mi-im, who prided herself in using the freshest ingredients and recipes that she had honed over decades, knew the food wasn’t the issue. With the help of a Coupang Eats representative, who gave her customized advice to better market her products, Mi-im updated her product descriptions and revised the listings to be more attractive for customers. By the second month, sales leaped nearly tenfold to 5 million won, and the month after that, they nearly tripled to 14 million won.
Mi-im credits the revival of the store to Coupang Eats. “Coupang Eats has faster delivery speeds than other apps, and it has an easy-to-use menu that even older people like me can use.” She added, “Thanks to Coupang Eats, I could overcome the crisis last year. I am so grateful I can buy my grandchildren delicious meat without hesitation. I think it was a really great decision to join the service.”
