[비즈한국] GS Retail007070 is set to launch an integrated platform this coming July. Ahead of its merger with GS Home Shopping028150, the platform incorporates both companies' brands and is currently in a pilot phase as a mobile app. Among retail giants, it is considered a latecomer, following Shinsegae004170's "SSG.com" and Lotte's "Lotte ON." While there is anticipation for synergies from the integration, some point out that there are limitations to turning the tide in an already saturated e-commerce market.
The name of GS Retail’s integrated app is "Market For." It launched on March 30 and is currently operating only as a mobile app pilot without a corresponding website. Its core strength lies in services tailored to daily life, a specialty of convenience stores, such as food, laundry, and cleaning. Instead of introducing an open marketplace, the company is considering a model where external online malls with expertise in specific sectors, such as agricultural and marine products, can open shops on the platform. It is also reportedly developing a dedicated mobile payment service that can be used across various online malls.
Looking at the 'Market For' Strategy... Shedding the GS Identity and Incorporating Specialty Malls
Market For includes GS Retail’s online mall "GS Fresh Mall," the meal-kit brand "Simply Cook," the organic-focused online mall "Dalisalda," and the H&B store "Lalavla." In addition to GS Home Shopping’s mobile app "GS Shop," external specialty malls such as Dongwon F&B’s side dish delivery service "The Banchan" and the seafood e-commerce platform "Yam Table" have also joined the platform.
The app’s home screen features a "FOOD" section. Swiping the tabs reveals "LIFE," which provides access to daily necessities, fashion apparel, and furniture, and swiping once more displays "BEAUTY," covering cosmetics. While simple, the categories cover most items sold by both GS Retail and GS Home Shopping.
What catches the eye is the omission of the "GS" brand identity. This is a move contrary to SSG.com or Lotte ON, which emphasize their corporate brands through names and logos. Neither the name "Market For" nor the app design shows any trace of the GS color scheme.
An e-commerce industry official interpreted this as, "Since it is still in the pilot phase, I understand they are weighing various options. That is likely why they are not promoting it aggressively. It remains to be seen how this differentiator—avoiding the 'GS' color or logo—will play out, but considering that Shinsegae and Lotte have yet to make a major breakthrough despite emphasizing their long-established brand names, this could prove to be a unique strategy in its own right."
Efforts to keep pace with recent trends are also visible, such as separate tabs for "Dawn Delivery" and "Live Commerce." It appears to be a strategy to build a loyal customer base from the pilot stage by incorporating the dawn delivery service previously operated through the GS Fresh Mall site and the live commerce strengths of GS Home Shopping. A GS Retail official said, "The current app is in the beta service stage. The active services are available for customers, but it is still for testing purposes. Nothing has been clearly finalized," keeping details minimal.
Still an Ambiguous Position, Will the Integrated App Succeed?
The situation in the integrated platform market that GS Retail has entered is far from simple. In addition to early entrants like Shinsegae and Lotte, online-specialized retailers like Coupang, Naver, and Market Kurly are competing fiercely. Fresh food delivery, which GS Retail has identified as its focus, is the most competitive sector among them.
A sense of crisis is also evident in the securities filing related to the merger. The "Key Investment Risk Notification" states, "As the high growth trend of online shopping continues, existing large offline retailers are responding by creating integrated online-offline malls. Meanwhile, not only large offline retailers but also existing online shopping mall companies are changing and competing in various ways to increase their market share." The document highlights the difficulties faced by each subsidiary—such as convenience stores, supermarkets, H&B stores, and hotels—alongside the sense of crisis arising from the consolidation of retail companies.
The aforementioned industry official noted, "It is no longer just a competition among retail giants like Lotte and Shinsegae. There are platform behemoths like Coupang and Naver, as well as startups like Market Kurly. This means differentiation is not easy. However, since the trust consumers have in the GS brand and the company's financial resources are clear strengths, one can imagine various synergies resulting from the merger."
Some point out that simply imitating innovation is unlikely to lead to success. Park Sung-woo, head of the Jinjja Retail Research Institute, analyzed, "Shinsegae and Lotte are closer to the 'online transformation of offline' businesses. Looking at transaction volumes, they cannot be compared to Coupang and Naver, which started as platform companies. If (retail giants) want to build a proper integrated platform, they need to consolidate all their existing apps. Since they are already generating traffic, it won't be an easy decision, but from the consumer's perspective, it leads to the thought, 'I can access them through individual apps, so why bother?' Just as Lotte has been talking about an 'omni-channel' approach for a long time but remains in a transitional phase, it is not easy for large conglomerates to fundamentally change their structure."