South Korea’s supermarket chain Emart has launched a new service offering one-hour delivery for over 3,000 items, including sushi and pork belly. Since Nov. 7, customers at Emart’s Wangsimni and Guro branches in Seoul can order through the Baemin app and receive their purchases within an hour. This marks Emart’s first foray into the quick commerce market, which typically promises delivery within 1-2 hours.
The quick commerce market is rapidly expanding. Offline retail giants, traditionally known for their large parking spaces and diverse product selections, are adopting quick commerce to meet the needs of consumers who find in-store shopping inconvenient. Delivery platforms like Baemin in Korea, Uber Eats, and DoorDash in the U.S. are expanding beyond food to include groceries and daily essentials, accelerating the spread of quick commerce. As quick commerce spreads quickly, its expansion is being observed globally. In the U.S., a nationwide 30-minute prescription delivery service has been introduced, while in India, companies are competing to offer deliveries within 10 minutes.
Quick commerce was once synonymous with food delivery, with groceries and household goods often taking until the afternoon or the next day to arrive, even with morning orders. However, the rise of food delivery and advancements in delivery infrastructure have expanded the quick commerce market. An industry insider noted, “Young consumers, accustomed to food delivery, now see next-day shipping as too slow and are willing to pay 3,000 won for immediate delivery. This demand is driving more companies into the quick commerce market.”
The rise of food delivery has led to a surge of 400,000 delivery workers in the industry, helping fast delivery services for other products take off. Another industry expert said that improved IT systems for predicting consumer demand and managing inventory are further boosting the growth of quick commerce.
Baemin, Korea’s top delivery app, introduced its B Mart service in 2019, offering 1-hour delivery for fresh produce, household goods, and small electronics, marking its early expansion beyond food. Convenience stores have also jumped into quick commerce, with over 15,000 GS25 locations now offering this service, and CU and 7-Eleven expanding their quick commerce offerings. Kurly, known for its early morning deliveries, also started a 1-hour delivery service in June. An Emart staffer explained, “We are currently piloting the quick commerce service at two locations to enhance customer convenience and will review the results before expanding further.”
This trend is not limited to Korea. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, currently offers 30-minute prescription deliveries in six U.S. states and plans to expand the service to 49 states by January. Amazon is also developing a drone-based service to deliver prescriptions within 60 minutes.
