Chinese online shopping platforms, such as AliExpress and Temu, have experienced a remarkable surge in sales, with an increase of over 130 per cent in just six months since their entry into the South Korean market.
The data reveals that transactions under US$22 accounted for the majority of sales, at 78 per cent of the total.
According to an analysis by BC Card comparing payment data from last October and March, aggregate payments on Chinese e-commerce platforms (C-commerce) increased by 138. per cent, while the number of transactions grew by 130.6 per cent during this period.
In contrast, domestic e-commerce platforms (K-commerce) saw a 2.5 per cent decrease in payment amounts and a 1.1 per cent drop in the number of transactions over the same period.
While the average payment amount on C-commerce platforms is significantly lower than on K-commerce platforms, the gap has narrowed slightly.
The average payment on C-commerce platforms increased from $17.40 last October to $18.02 in March, while the average payment on K-commerce platforms decreased from $28.85 to $28.45 during the same period.
Unlike K-commerce platforms, where transactions are relatively evenly distributed across different price ranges, C-commerce platforms are dominated by low-priced items.
As of March, transactions between $7.33 and $22 accounted for 59.1 per cent of C-commerce transactions, followed by $3.67 to $7.33 (14.2 per cent), $22 to $36.66 (13.6 per cent), $36.66 to $73.32 (6.6 per cent), and under $3.67 (4.6 per cent).
Transactions under $22 represented 78 per cent of the total.
In contrast, K-commerce platforms showed a more even distribution, with transactions between $7.33 and $22 accounting for 40.1 per cent, $22 to $36.66 (17.8 per cent), under $3.67 (16.8 per cent), $36.66 to $73.33 (10.4 per cent, and $3.67 to $73.33 (9.8 per cent).
Transactions under $22 made up 67 per cent of the total on K-commerce platforms.
When analyzed by age group, C-commerce platforms saw an increase in payment amounts across all age groups, while K-commerce platforms experienced a decrease in all age groups except for those in their 30s.
The age group with the highest increase in payment amounts on C-commerce platforms was those in their 40s (183 per cent, followed by those in their 30s (148 per cent), 50s (145 per cent), 60s (108 per cent), and teenagers (103 per cent).
For K-commerce platforms, payment amounts increased by 4 per cent only for those in their 30s, while decreasing by 1 per cent to 10 per cent for all other age groups.
In terms of gender patterns, C-commerce platforms initially showed a skew toward male users, with 69.4 per cent of transactions made by men and 30.6 per cent by women. However, as of March, the share of transactions made by women increased to 35.3 per cent .
On K-commerce platforms, the ratio remained relatively stable, with men accounting for around 46 per cent and women 53 per cent of transactions during this period.
This story was originally published by Ashley Song, via Korea Bizwire.
