Grocery market in South Korea

The South Korean Grocery eCommerce market is predicted to reach US$43,440.4 million by 2024 and accounts for 28.8% of the total eCommerce market in South Korea. It is expected to increase over the next years. The expected compound annual growth rate for the next four years (CAGR 2024-2028) will be 15.0%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$76,070.3 million by 2028. Within the Grocery market ECDB considers the following two sub-markets: Food and Beverages.

Market development

eCommerce revenue development in the Food market in South Korea

The South Korean Food eCommerce market is predicted to reach US$26,732.4 million by 2024 and accounts for 61.5% of the Grocery eCommerce market in South Korea. It is expected to increase over the next years. The expected compound annual growth rate for the next four years (CAGR 2024-2028) will be 14.3%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$45,705.8 million by 2028. The Food eCommerce market is a sub-market of the Grocery market. Further categories within the Grocery market are: Beverages.

eCommerce revenue development in the Food market in South Korea

in million US$

eCommerce revenue growth in the Food market in South Korea

in %

Net eCommerce revenue split by sub-category

in %
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Revenue (in mUS$) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Growth (in %) 40.5 82.3 18.7 88.1 0.7 46.7 74.7 59.9

Online share

eCommerce online share of the total Food market in South Korea

The online share refers to the proportion of the retail volume that is transacted via the Internet. It includes purchases via desktop PC, tablet or smartphone, both via website or app. Only retail of physical goods is taken into account. In the South Korean Food retail market, the online share is 9.0% and will increase by an average of 4.0% to 10.5% by 2028.

eCommerce online share of the total Food market in South Korea

in %
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Online share (in %) 99.6% 82.7% 64.1% 24.8% 85.9% 13.6% 28.0% 41.5%

Top stores

Top five Food online stores in South Korea by net sales 2023

With sales in the South Korean Food market, coupang.com generated a revenue of US$633.5 million in 2023, which means it is the leading online store in this market. The Food ranking of South Korea is based on all online stores that generated sales in this market in 2023. Due to a country- and category-dependent approach, both national and international online stores can be part of the ranking. The graph shows a filtered revenue. It only includes national sales within the respective market.

eCommerce net sales generated in the Food market in South Korea in 2023

in million US$
Filtered revenue / share
Global revenue
Growth
US$900.0m
20.7%
US$8,300.0m 8.3%
US$550.0m
12.0%
US$4,600.0m 12.4%
US$470.0m
3.9%
US$1,190.0m 33.6%
US$430.0m
20.6%
US$2,122.0m 18.0%
US$370.0m
20.7%
US$1,814.0m 12.6%

Market definition

Definition of the Food market within the Grocery market

Market definition: Grocery > Food The category Food includes the online trade of fresh food (e.g. fruits, vegetables, dairy products), frozen food (e.g. ice creams, frozen pizzas), food cupboard (e.g. noodles, cereals, sweets), and more. Online stores dedicated to the sale of ready-to-eat meal delivery, restaurant pick-up or pet food are not considered. All monetary figures refer to the annual gross revenue and do not factor in shipping costs.

In-scope

  • Fresh food (e.g. fruits, vegetables, dairy products)
  • Frozen food (e.g. ice creams, frozen pizzas)
  • Food cupboard (e.g. noodles, cereals, sweets)
  • Bakery (e.g. bread, cakes, pastries)
  • Meal kits

Out-of-scope

  • Ready-to-eat meal delivery
  • Restaurant pick-up
  • Pet food