Secondhand selling boom fuels convenience store delivery services

A customer receives her parcel at a convenience store. [7-ELEVEN]

Convenience stores are betting big on delivery service as a growing number of secondhand sellers tap into cheaper shipping between the convenience store branches.

GS25 pioneered the branch-to-branch delivery service named Half-priced Delivery in 2019 and CU jumped into the business the following year.

Helped by the fast entry, GS25 claims the largest market share of around 70 percent in the convenience store delivery segment. However, CU is pursuing the lead with its vast branch network.

The average number of deliveries made through the GS25 service is currently one million per month, three times that of CU.

Still, the number of branch-to-branch deliveries at CU increased by 90 percent from January to September, compared to the same period last year. GS25 also showed a 13.4 percent growth rate from the number of “half-priced” deliveries in the same period, according to the store industry on Friday.

The rise in delivery services from convenience stores is closely related to the dramatic growth in the secondhand market. The domestic secondhand market grew to 24 trillion won ($17.8 billion) in 2021, up from four trillion won in 2008, according to the Korea Internet and Security Agency.

A total of 72 percent of delivery service users cited "secondhand deals" as the reason for using the service, according to GS25’s report. It stated that consumers prefer to use the store’s delivery service for privacy and expense reasons, though platforms like Danggeun Market encourage people to do face-to-face trades to prevent cases where a seller runs away after they get paid without handing over the product.

To seize on the need, convenience store chains like GS25, CU and 7-Eleven are in a race to win consumers’ hearts. They are introducing various plans such as partnering with secondhand market platforms to lure more customers to their store.

GS25 is expanding the locations for the delivery service, including faraway regions like Jeju Island.

CU is also establishing business ties with secondhand marketplace platforms. The chain is offering unlimited discounts to users of secondhand platforms Joonggonara and Bungaejangter until the end of October.

7-Eleven introduced “Seven Pick-up,” a contact-free secondhand trade service in collaboration with Joonggonara, this year.

BY KIM MIN-SANG [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]