South Korea’s e-commerce firms expands gift services

Naver launched a gift shop, whilst SK stoa has widened the scope of its online gift function.

As South Korea sees a rapid growth in online gift services, which allow users to send gifts simply by using a phone number rather than a postal address, the nation’s e-commerce businesses are strengthening related services, Korea Bizwire reported.

The industry estimates the size of the market at about $3.1b (KRW3.5t). The market is dominated by KakaoTalk Gift. Introduced in 2010 by mobile messenger KakaoTalk, the platform saw its transaction volume rise by 52% YoY in 2020.

To meet the rising demand, a growing number of online shopping malls are introducing gift functions or strengthening their existing gift functions. For instance, local conglomerate Naver launched a gift shop service that recommends a variety of gifts.

The company also rolled out an artificial intelligence (AI) recommendation function for the gift section, aimed at making it easier for users to send gifts whilst searching for items.

At the same time, home shopping firm SK stoa expanded the application of its online gift function to all of its items starting from this month.