Grip attracts another 8 billion won in second round of investments

An influencer hosts a live commerce show on Grip. [GRIP COMPANY]

Live commerce platform Grip has attracted 8 billion won ($6.7 million) of fresh investment, its operator Grip Company announced Monday.

The new investment brings the accumulated total to 12 billion won, which its operator says is a record for a live commerce platform in Korea.

Live commerce is similar to TV home shopping in that the host promotes products on a media channel, but it’s broadcast live online or via a mobile platform where viewers can interact with the host in real time.

All initial seed investors, including Korea Investment Partners, Neoplux and TBT, are said to have participated in the second round of funding as they saw a high conversion rate in the number of online customer visits that turned into actual orders.

Launched in February last year, Grip is Korea’s first mobile application dedicated to live commerce shopping. The company says it is the third largest live commerce app after Kakao and Naver's own platforms.

Grip currently has around 4,000 partner stores using its platform, some of which include retail giants like Shinsegae Duty Free, AK Department Store and GS25. More than 200 live commerce shows are aired on Grip every day.

BY KANG JAE-EUN [kang.jaeeun@joongang.co.kr]