CU and WeMakePrice O2O partner on convenience delivery

Convenience stores are evolving to sell a more diverse range of products and deliver them through more channels

Convenience stores are evolving to sell a more diverse range of products and deliver them through more channels.

CU partnered with delivery platform WeMakePrice O2O as part of its effort to improve delivery.

BGF Retail, which operates CU, announced Monday it added WeMakePrice O2O as a new delivery channel. It currently uses Yogiyo and Ddingdong.

WeMakePrice O2O was spun off from e-commerce platform WeMakePrice this month. As of October, it had 45,000 partners and has more than 500,000 monthly active users.

The partnership reflects CU’s “effort to expand delivery channels to reach out to more customers,” said Kim Seong-mo, a spokesperson for BGF Retail.

As more people shop at convenience stores, convenience stores have been expanding the methods of delivery from motorbikes to drive-through and on-foot. It is also offering late-night delivery at around 3,000 branches.

“Demand for delivery from convenience stores and related businesses and infrastructure continue to evolve,” said Kwak Dong-jin from BGF Retail’s e-commerce team.

As more people use mobile shopping, an increasing number of shoppers are purchasing groceries at convenience stores instead of discount marts.

From July through September, the sale of fruits and vegetables at CU jumped 30 percent and 59 percent, respectively, compared to the same months last year. During the same period, sales of fresh produces like tofu and vegetables at 7-Eleven increased between 24 percent to 61 percent.

“Before, small portions of fruits sold well at convenience stores, but recently, sales of larger packages of fruit have increased at branches around homes,” said a spokesperson for BGF Retail.

A spokesperson for Emart24 similarly said, “Nearby convenience stores are becoming shopping spaces to purchase necessary food materials for simple dishes.”

Sales of frozen meat at Emart24 jumped 249 percent during the same period.

BY JIN MIN-JI, BAE JUNG-WON [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]