[비즈한국] Traditional retail giants, long constrained by the high wall of 'retail regulations,' are preparing to enter the dawn delivery market. Amidst the government and ruling party's push to ease regulations on large supermarkets, they have begun preparing various strategies to enter this new market. With retail giants possessing nationwide offline bases joining a market previously dominated by Coupang, analysts predict that the 'dawn delivery war' in the retail industry will reach its peak in the second half of this year.
E-Mart Reviews Infrastructure Construction Costs
According to an insider familiar with the retail industry and E-Mart's board of directors, E-Mart is currently calculating the costs for hiring personnel and upgrading logistics infrastructure needed to establish a foothold in the dawn delivery market, and is reviewing the scale of related investments. E-Mart, which possesses unparalleled sourcing capabilities in fresh food, is making full preparations to engage in a full-scale competition with Coupang, anticipating that delivery time restrictions will be lifted.
An industry official hinted, "While media reports suggest that building the necessary infrastructure will be costly, it should be seen as an essential area to enter for survival. I understand that significant decisions regarding investments for dawn delivery infrastructure have already been finalized by E-Mart's upper management."
E-Mart's subsidiary, SSG.com, has already launched an all-out offensive. It recently introduced 'SSG Seven Club,' a low-cost membership with a groundbreaking price of 2,900 won per month, which is seen as a strategic move to absorb users leaving Coupang's WOW membership. Furthermore, the company plans to compete with 'Rocket Delivery' by adding 'Baro Quick,' an immediate delivery service expanded to 80 locations nationwide.
Dawn Delivery Drove Coupang's 100-Fold Revenue Growth Over 10 Years
The deregulation of dawn delivery stems from the conflict between Coupang and the government/ruling party. Previously, large supermarkets were restricted from dawn deliveries, which naturally allowed Coupang to monopolize the market. However, following controversy over Coupang's response to a massive customer data breach, the government and ruling party shifted their stance toward allowing dawn deliveries by large supermarkets.
The government and ruling party held a high-level consultative meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on February 8th, and decided to amend the 'Distribution Industry Development Act' (Distribution Act). The core of the amendment is to create an exception to the regulation that limits the operating hours of large supermarkets from 'midnight to 10 a.m. the following day,' thereby allowing online order deliveries during dawn hours.
Dawn delivery has been the driving force behind 'Coupang's' growth during this period. In 2024, Coupang recorded an annual revenue of 41.2901 trillion won, a scale that exceeds the total retail sales of domestic large supermarkets (37.1 trillion won). The fact that Coupang's annual revenue grew nearly 100-fold in about 10 years, from approximately 430 billion won in 2013, is thanks to dawn delivery.
Coupang provided dawn delivery by absorbing short-term losses, which led to a 'lock-in' effect that kept members tied to the platform. This has resulted in the company holding nearly 75% of the 20 million dawn delivery users, cementing Coupang's position as the 'No. 1 retail company.'
This is why the long-stagnant large supermarket industry cannot remain idle amid the government's push to make 'dawn delivery possible.' Not only E-Mart but also competitors like Lotte Mart have signaled their intention to join the dawn delivery race one after another. As government regulatory blades, such as the Fair Trade Commission's investigation into algorithms, are directed at Coupang, traditional retail companies are aiming to break free from regulatory shackles and reclaim the market.
The aforementioned retail industry official predicted, "If we expect investments in infrastructure to begin after the amendment is processed under the government's leadership, wouldn't the dawn delivery service itself only be able to start by the second quarter? If traditional large retailers join the battle for hegemony in the dawn delivery market around May or June, fierce competition will begin starting in the second half of the year."
Another industry insider predicted, "It is true that there are many concerns about dawn delivery, but there is no reason for large supermarkets not to enter the market. The very fact that they can utilize large stores that were idle at night and their inventory for late-night logistics is already attractive. If they use existing large stores distributed nationwide to build dawn delivery infrastructure, couldn't they do it with relatively less investment compared to Coupang? Unlike Coupang's model centered on logistics centers, life-friendly deliveries utilizing stores near residential areas are also possible, so they could have competitiveness right from the start in the metropolitan area and major metropolitan cities."