According to foreign media reports, Alibaba’s global e-commerce platform AliExpress is intensifying the construction of its logistics network in South Korea to improve the delivery speed of cross-border parcels significantly. Additionally, the aggressive expansion of AliExpress is eroding the market share of South Korean local e-commerce platforms such as Coupang and 11Street.
AliExpress entered the Korean market in 2018. In March of last year, the company announced an investment of approximately 100 billion Korean won (76.4 million USD) in the Korean market to expand product categories and optimize user experience.
According to reports, the decline in consumer demand has dealt a heavy blow to online shopping. E-commerce platforms like Coupang, which have transportation networks, have continuously decreased shipment volume. In contrast, AliExpress has been consistently increasing its shipment volume.
CJ Logistics, the largest logistics company in Korea, is a significant parcel carrier for AliExpress. In the third quarter of last year, the quantity of goods transported by CJ Logistics for AliExpress increased approximately 2.5 times from the first quarter, rising from 3.5 million items to 9 million items.
An industry insider recently stated that benefiting from AliExpress, CJ Logistics’ parcel shipping volume is expected to increase by 3.1% in 2024.
CJ Logistics holds a 12% share of the Korean express delivery market, ranking third or fourth. If AliExpress maintains its growth momentum this year, CJ Logistics will expand its market position further.
Another analyst predicts a significant increase in the quantity of goods shipped by AliExpress to Korea, from 30 million items in 2023 to 50 million in 2024.
According to data from WiseApp, the number of users on South Korean local e-commerce platforms such as 11Street, Gmarket, and Wemakeprice has declined over the past two years. In contrast, the number of AliExpress users has been growing. In October 2023, AliExpress reached 6.13 million users, becoming Korea’s fifth most popular e-commerce platform.
An industry insider emphasizes that at the current growth rate, the user numbers of the AliExpress platform are expected to reach a new high in the first half of this year, ranking second in the Korean market.
It’s worth mentioning that in addition to AliExpress, the popularity of Temu and Shein in South Korea is also steadily increasing. In 2023, Temu had 2.4 million monthly active users, while Shein had 450,000.