[Updated] South Korea’s Coupang Looking To Take On India’s Ecommerce Market

Update | 30th May, 14:45 PM IST

Post publishing this story, Coupang approached Inc42 and notified the company do not intend to enter the Indian market.

South Korean ecommerce giant Coupang is reportedly planning to enter the Indian market, as the New York Stock Exchange-listed startup is said to be in conversation with the Indian government.

According to a Business Standard report citing government officials, the South Korean government has applied to India on behalf of Coupang, which has expressed interest in entering one of the world’s largest ecommerce markets.

The Seoul-headquartered company will be vying for a chunk of India’s ecommerce market against the Walmart-owned ecommerce behemoth Flipkart and US-headquartered Amazon. 

Along with the two, there are several other startup and corporate incumbents in the segment, including Nykaa, Meesho, JioMart and Tata Digital. Ecommerce is one of India’s largest startup sectors, having attracted $12.45 Bn between April 2021 and March 2022, minting 24 unicorns in the process, per Inc42 data.

Incidentally, Coupang’s India bet comes off the back of the South Korean firm exiting Japan, where it started grocery delivery operations about two years ago. 

The decision was said to have come off the back of Japan’s widespread Konbini (convenience store) culture, along with a large chunk of the senior population which is not used to shopping online.

The latter, at least, would not be a problem for Coupang in India.

Per Inc42’s ‘State Of Indian Ecommerce Report Q2 2023’, India is set to have more than 500 Mn ecommerce users by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%.

What Brings Coupang To India?

While the Korean ecommerce giant is doing many things that platforms in India do, it has a flagship service, Rocket Deliver. With Rocket Deliver, Coupang promises delivery the following day if the order is placed before midnight. 

Further, the Rocket Direct Purchasing service offers all imported goods bought on Coupang delivered within three days.

Apart from ecommerce, Coupang also has a food delivery service, Coupang Eats, and a grocery delivery vertical, Rocket Fresh, pitting it directly against the likes of Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, BigBasket and others. 

Along with all the delivery services, the South Korean giant also offers a subscription video streaming service, Coupang Play.

Speaking of financials, Coupang’s annual revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022, stood at $20.6 Bn, while its EBITDA stood at $118.95 Mn. The company’s shares traded at $15.73 apiece at the end of the day’s trading on May 26.

As such, Coupang is larger than all of India’s homegrown ecommerce companies, in terms of revenue. Should the South Korean giant land in India, it would be interesting to see how it impacts Indian ecommerce giants.

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