Coupang, South Korea’s leading e-commerce platform, has seen its user base grow despite a recent hike in membership fees.
The e-commerce giant’s monthly active users (MAUs) amounted to approximately 32.11 million in September, up 0.9% from the previous month, according to market tracker Wiseapp Retail Goods on Oct. 3.
Coupang raised the price of its monthly Wow paid membership fee from 4,990 won ($3.74) to 7,890 won ($6). The move initially raised fears of a mass subscriber exodus, but the company instead experienced a boost in user numbers last month.
Analysts suggest that Coupang’s market dominance has only strengthened after rival e-commerce platforms TMON and WeMakePrice were hit by a liquidity crisis, with users leaving the cash-crunched platforms to join Coupang.
Other e-commerce platforms have also struggled to retain users. The country’s second to fifth-largest e-commerce companies all experienced a drop in MAUs last month. 11Street saw its MAU decline 1.1% to 7.382 million, while GMarket’s MAU fell 1.5% to around 5.3 million.
