Naver and Kurly are expanding their joint grocery service "Kurly N Mart" to include same-day delivery, intensifying competition with market leader Coupang.
The companies announced Thursday that orders placed by 3 p.m. will now arrive by midnight the same day. Previously, the service only offered dawn delivery, with orders placed by 11 p.m. arriving before 8 a.m. the following morning.
The same-day delivery service will initially cover the Seoul metropolitan area, including Gyeonggi Province, with plans to expand to other regions.
Kurly N Mart, launched in September last year through Naver Plus Store, allows customers to purchase Kurly products on Naver's platform. Monthly transaction volume has grown more than 50% each month since launch, with last month's figures seven times higher than the initial September period.
Fresh produce transactions, including vegetables and meat products, surged 82% and 74% respectively in January compared to September. Sales of fast-moving consumer goods such as toilet paper, detergent, and oral care products increased more than fivefold over the same period.
The repeat purchase rate has reached 60%, roughly double the figure from October last year. Naver attributes the rapid growth to low barriers for membership users, who receive free shipping on orders over 20,000 won. More than 90% of Kurly N Mart users are Naver Plus members, and 80% of transactions occur through the Naver Plus Store app.
The same-day delivery option will also apply to Kurly's standalone platform. Industry observers expect the move to heat up competition with Coupang, which has dominated the same-day and next-day dawn delivery market through its Rocket Delivery and Rocket Fresh services.