Baemin rolls out free food delivery as Coupang Eats chases its market

Baedal Minjok's, or Baemin's, advertisement for free delivery service that rolled out Monday. [WOOWA BROTHERS]

Baedal Minjok, commonly referred to as Baemin, began rolling out free food delivery on Monday, chasing the aggressive expansion of its competitor Coupang Eats.

The decision — announced by Woowa Brothers, Baemin's operator, on Monday — is the company's latest attempt to safeguard its market dominance as latecomer Coupang's fast growth pushes it toward the second-place slot.

Coupang Eats rolling out free delivery for WOW members

The free delivery will be applied to Baemin's “Alddeul Baedal” service, which multiple orders are picked up by a driver and delivered to neighboring houses simultaneously, in the Seoul metropolitan area first. Products delivered straight to individual households are ineligible.

Customers can download an unlimited number of coupons through the app. They can choose between free delivery and a 10 percent discount (up to 10,000 won, or $7.41). The latter option, of course, will more greatly benefit those with more expensive orders.

The service rollout kicked off in Seoul and neighboring cities in Incheon and Gyeonggi, including Suwon, Seongnam, Goyang, Bucheon and Yongin, with further expansion contingent upon the service's performance and customer feedback.

Coupang Eats was the first food delivery platform in Korea to announce free delivery. It now waives such fees for members of its Coupang WOW subscription program, though free delivery is currently available only in certain areas and for multiple pickups only. Baemin emphasized that its free delivery service and 10 percent discount coupon are accessible to “all customers, regardless of membership or subscription status.”

Similarly, Yogiyo has temporarily lowered its Yogi Pass X subscription fee until June.

Delivery companies are clinging onto market share as inflation constrains consumer spending. Last year marked the first annual decrease in food delivery transaction volume since data collection began in 2017. This year shows no clear signs of recovery.

Despite Baemin's continued dominance in market share and user numbers, analysts caution against overlooking Coupang Eats' growth trajectory.

Coupang Eats' weekly active user count surpassed Yogiyo's for the fifth consecutive week from March 18 to 24, according to the latest data from WiseappㆍRetailㆍGoods. This trend is expected to continue in the monthly active user count for March, with Coupang Eats poised to overtake Yogiyo's second position, according to industry insiders.

“The decision is aimed at enhancing consumers' benefits amid high competition among delivery companies,” a Baemin official said.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]