Yomart dark store opens for Yogiyo delivery and pickup

The Yogiyo app, which allows for ordering from the Yomart dark store. [DELIVERY HERO KOREA]

Delivery Hero Korea is jumping on the "dark store" bandwagon, opening a Yomart on Wednesday.

Dark stores look like supermarkets, but are for the delivery and collection of online orders.

Berlin's Delivery Hero Korea, which operates Yogiyo, announced Wednesday that the first Yomart opened in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

It is similar to B Mart, a Woowa Brothers dark store opened in November. Woowa Brothers operates Baedal Minjok.

Around 3,000 products can be purchased at Yomart via the Yogiyo app and are available within 30 minutes. Using Yomart adds 3,000 won ($2.55) to each order.

Fresh produce, meal-kit packages, household items and pet supplies are among the offerings.

Delivery Hero Korea plans to open more Yomart stores after it completes the test run of the Gangnam location.

The company is providing a “next-generation delivery service that can get any products to customers within 30 minutes, which is beyond next-day delivery, dawn delivery or three-hour delivery,” Delivery Hero Korea wrote in a statement.

Outside of Korea, Yomart is known as DMart.

“Globally, DMart is growing rapidly through the provision of a range of products and quick delivery to its users,” said Kim So-jung, Delivery Hero Stores Korea CEO, in a statement.

Customers purchasing more that 10,000 won worth of goods from Yomart can get free delivery this month.

Many retailers have dark stores, targeting individual households ordering in small quantities. Now Pick operates four dark stores in Gangnam areas, while Lotte Mart opened dark stores at two of its branches in April.

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