Convenience store chain GS25 is offering delivery

A delivery man from Barogo prepares to deliver an order placed online. [GS RETAIL]

People can now get beverages or fresh food delivered to their homes from convenience stores from KakaoTalk.

GS Retail, which operates the GS25 convenience store franchise, on Monday announced a new service allowing KakaoTalk users to order products from convenience stores. The marketing push comes on the heels of rapid growth in e-commerce following the outbreak of the coronavirus and the subsequent desire by consumers to avoid face-to-face human interaction.

Delivery start-up Barogo handles the deliveries.

The trial service is available at seven branches in areas including Sinchon, western Seoul, Gangnam, southern Seoul, and Gundae, eastern Seoul. The delivery fee starts at 3,000 won ($2.43). At least 10,000 won needs to be spent to place an order.

A total of 350 types of products, including fresh food like fruits, home meal replacements, beverages, daily necessities and promotional items can be ordered.

Branches in Gangnam and Yeoksam in southern Seoul offers the delivery service 24 hours a day, while others offer the service from 11 a.m. through 11 p.m.

Before KakaoTalk, GS25 joined hands with Yogiyo to get its products delivered. It initiated a trial service in March last year and expanded the service nationwide this year in March. Of the total of around 14,000 convenience stores nationwide, 2,000 GS25 stores receive orders via Yogiyo.
Similar to Yogiyo, it takes around 30 minutes to an hour to receive the convenience store products delivered from KakaoTalk order.

“The service with KakaoTalk is an expansion of what we did with Yogiyo,” said Kim Ha-yan, a spokesperson for GS Retail. “We are trying to expand the point of contact with customers who place orders online.”

Kim added, “Platform users usually have high loyalty. Having more users of a platform means we get to embrace a larger number of customers. KakaoTalk has 45 million monthly users.”

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]