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Naver, Kurly join forces in fresh grocery delivery to challenge Coupang

Published: 18 Apr. 2025, 18:03

Naver and Kurly formed a strategic partnership to launch Kurly's fresh grocery delivery service within the Naver Plus Store platform by the end of this year. [KURLY]

Naver has joined forces with grocery e-commerce firm Kurly as it seeks to sharpen its edge in fresh food and delivery — an area long seen as its weak spot compared to market leader Coupang.

Naver announced Friday it will form a strategic partnership with the fresh grocery deliverer. Kurly plans to launch its service within the Naver Plus Store platform by the end of this year. Once available, users will be able to shop for groceries and daily essentials from Kurly without needing to download a separate app.

What’s the big deal?

Naver first entered the online grocery space in 2020 by onboarding major retailers such as Emart’s online mall and Homeplus. However, the venture has seen limited success. Even a high-profile alliance involving equity swaps with Shinsegae failed to produce meaningful results.

This has led to persistent speculation about Naver’s potential equity investment in Kurly.

Industry watchers say the collaboration reflects Naver’s urgent need to overcome weaknesses in fresh food and delivery — both areas where Coupang dominates with its Rocket Delivery and Rocket Fresh services.

It also raises the key question of whether Naver can carve out a significant share of Coupang’s e-commerce dominance by enhancing its presence in fresh food and logistics.

Fresh groceries are a high-frequency purchase category, making them a powerful lever for platforms looking to lock in customer loyalty and drive long-term engagement. While Naver has shown strength in fashion, electronics and beauty — categories often driven by one-time purchases — Kurly could serve as a bridge into more habitual, daily-consumption shopping behaviors. Kurly pioneered Korea’s early morning delivery market with its “Saetbyeol Delivery” service, but has since lost ground to Coupang, which has aggressively expanded using its in-house logistics network.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon speaks at the tech firm's 26th general shareholders' meeting on March 26 at Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. [NEWS1]

In contrast, Naver’s open marketplace model relies on third-party partnerships and lacks direct control over logistics.

“Kurly was likely the most realistic option for Naver to push forward in e-commerce,” said one industry insider. “But even if Kurly enhances Naver’s delivery offerings, it’s still a stretch to match Coupang’s vertically integrated logistics.”

Rebranding and expanding delivery services

Naver has made several moves recently to strengthen its logistics capabilities. Last month, it launched a stand-alone Naver Plus Store app and rebranded its delivery service under the new “N Delivery” label. The service now offers options like same-day and next-day delivery, in a bid to catch up with quicker e-commerce fulfillment standards.

The company also plans to introduce a “Quick Delivery” service later this year, allowing users to receive orders within an hour of purchase.

“We had a ‘guaranteed arrival’ feature before, but it wasn’t intuitive from a user perspective,” said a Naver spokesperson. “We’re evolving our commerce strategy to offer personalized benefits, both online and offline, based on user preferences.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY KWEN YU-JIN [[email protected]]