Korean e-commerce platforms’ growth cools; Naver Shopping sales down

Korean players need to enhance their presence in the fast-growing cross-border e-commerce sector, analysts say

Naver logo (Courtesy of News1)
Naver logo (Courtesy of News1)
Tae-Ho Lee 5
Feb 17, 2025 (Gmt+09:00) beje@hankyung.com
E-commerce

South Korea’s major e-commerce platforms, including Naver Shopping, are showing signs of slowing growth amid the rise of Chinese platform giants and fierce competition with domestic online retailers handling specialized items.

Industry data showed on Monday that leading Korean online platform operators are at a crossroads as their sales and transactions are on a downward trajectory.

According to Korean alternative data platform KED Aicel, credit card settlements through Naver Financial Corp., which reflect Naver Shopping’s transaction volumes, reached 2.54 trillion won ($1.76 billion) in January, down 0.35% from a year earlier.

That’s Naver Shopping’s first decline since tech giant Naver Corp. spun off its electronic payment business as a separate company in 2019.
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