South Korea is now an e-commerce powerhouse and ranks 2nd globally in online shopping per capita. Now there are many e-commerce solutions in Korea by startups helping businesses go online. If companies in Korea want to succeed moving forward, they need an online presence. Korea’s fast-moving culture is not fading, and online shopping has now become a dominant force in how Koreans purchase food, household items, clothes, and more.
This article will focus on Korean startups that offer different solutions to support businesses as they pivot into e-commerce. In addition, startups that help existing e-commerce platforms improve their services. We also have an article on live commerce in Korea, so make sure to check that out as well.
E-Commerce Solutions in Korea
MarppleShop
Merchandise Commerce startup MarppleShop is a leading global e-commerce platform for print-on-demand (POD) for clothing and accessories. It is a merchandise commerce platform for every creator. They offer a complete solution for mass customization from eCommerce to manufacturing. The site is a platform for custom clothing and personalized goods.
Creators can create their merch shop using their platform. It is free to create a shop and make products in the shop. They handle everything from production to delivery. All the creator has to do is upload their design and that is all. MarppleShop already has over 11,440 CreativeSellers on its platform who are actively selling their merchandise.
Users can create their own t-shirts or other personalized clothing products. They can customize the text, design, and image for custom products like clothes, bags, and even phone cases. Furthermore, MarppleShop has become a platform for influencers, organizations, and individuals that are looking to showcase their designs to the world.
From Hongdae to Online
The startup started as a brick-and-mortar shop in Hongdae over a decade ago. However, in 2015, they shifted their business online. They now offer a diverse range of products, from gifts for the family to customized photo accessories for friends. Their pop-selling items are related to K-pop and other Korean pop culture elements.
“Our local customers have very high standards when it comes to print quality. We can’t push off on enhancing our technology as mediocre quality immediately leads to customer complaints. When we compare our products against overseas POD samples, they are rarely better than ours,” said Park Hye-yoon the Founder of MarrpleShop.
Their focus for 2024 will be to offer a platform that will continue to help designers create and sell merchandise without the need for initial capital. Therefore anyone will be able to start an online business and get rewarded for their designs
iCLAVE (Robomd)
iCLAVE is the developer of RoboMD to help e-Commerce companies by automating market research, banner creation, item selection, and banner display. Banners generated by RoboMD are measurable and controllable to boost sales. Furthermore, it is fully automated, and the banner operations by RoboMD allow e-commerce companies to reduce costs. Moreover, product recommendation by RoboMD improves customer experience by shortening the journey to the right product.
RoboMD analyzes each product data to select the optimized design automatically. Moreover, it then uses AI technology to create web banner designs explicitly targeted to each customer. It analyzes customer behavior data to distinguish between sign-up customers and anonymous customers. Then it selects the best product to make banners for each of them. Therefore, it can then display different banners to different customers. In addition, companies can preset their schedule to display banners automatically.
Bemyfriends
Bemyfriends is the creator of a fandom service solution called b.stage. It is an open platform where creators can offer for-profit fandom services. The startup develops products and services for artists, creators, and brands from all around the world. They aim to create an ecosystem that changes how fans live and connect. In addition, through b.stage, creators can build their bespoke platform. This allows influencers to connect with their fans like never before. Creators can now take full charge of all their content and data with full creative ownership.
Gongbbu Market
One of the more innovative e-commerce solutions in Korea is Gongbbu. It offers an offline sharing commerce platform that rents spare space in stores operated by small business owners, such as cafes, bookstores, and hotels. Offline stores with a space can register on Gongbbu, and Gongbbu provides all the sales products through their AI data product matching platform. Therefore, this allows stores to create additional revenue by renting out their space. Gongbbu provides all dedicated sales stands and POS. Stores get the added benefit of more customer inflow which can lead to more revenue.
