Coupang (CPNG) is seeing its user base grow again despite a data breach that exposed 33.7 million accounts.
Weekly active users (WAU) of the Coupang app reached 29.94 million during the first week of December, up approximately 4.1% from 28.77 million in early November, according to data from app analytics firm WiseApp Retail released Saturday.
The growth trend extended across Coupang's major services. Coupang Play, the company's streaming platform, recorded 3.94 million weekly users, up about 4% from 3.79 million a month earlier. This places it second in Korea's over-the-top (OTT) streaming market, behind only Netflix.
Coupang Eats, the company's food delivery service, also saw users increase approximately 3% to 7.98 million from 7.75 million over the same period.
Industry analysts attribute the resilience to a "lock-in effect" created by Coupang's ecosystem, which bundles shopping, delivery, streaming content, and food delivery services into a single platform, making it difficult for users to switch.
JP Morgan noted in a December 1 report that "Coupang enjoys a market position with virtually no competition, and Korean consumers appear relatively less sensitive to data breaches," adding that "potential customer churn will likely be limited."
Consumer surveys reflect a similar sentiment. A poll by Embrain Trend Monitor of 1,000 adults aged 19 to 69 nationwide found that 71.9% of respondents said "it would be difficult to restore lost trust even if Coupang offers compensation." However, 55.3% also said they would "continue using the service anyway due to its convenience."
Since the data breach, Coupang has strengthened security measures including recommending password changes and introducing two-factor authentication.
"Coupang provides convenient services such as streaming content, food delivery, dawn delivery, and free returns at a level that competitors cannot match, so the lock-in effect remains strong even after the data breach," an industry official said.
