À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo provided by Market Kurly]
Market Kurly, an online door-to-door grocery service launched four years ago in South Korea, has seen exponential growth thanks to strong demand for its next-morning delivery service.
Market Kurly said on Wednesday that its sales ballooned from 2.9 billion won ($2.5 million) in 2015 to 156 billion won last year.
Based on a big data analysis carried out ahead of its 4th founding anniversary, the online grocery platform has amassed 2 million members as of last month, amounting to half of households in Seoul.,
In February, the daily number of orders hit up to 33,000, settling in as a popular online grocery platform.
The company¡¯s big data analysis showed that sales that have 50-folded over four years has been mainly led by growing demand for its ¡°Saetbyul delivery¡± service that delivers fresh food products to the doorstep by 7 in the morning on the next day after an order is placed as late as midnight.
The analysis also showed that the most popular product ordered online last year was Jeju pasturage milk, avocados, free-range eggs, Norway mackerel, and sliced bread.
Sales of its own private-labeled brand items and exclusively-offered products accounted for 28 percent of total sales last month.
Market Kurly said that the trendiest items were sea grapes, fresh wasabi, and mangostin. Consumers also sought new and rare food items, which is why Market Kurly curated unique products for the consumers. Nevertheless, the company said that consumers were most fond of searching for ¡°fresh¡± and ¡°simple¡± food items based on consumer reviews.
Sophie Kim, founder and chief executive of Market Kurly, said that the big data analysis was carried out to reflect service over the last four years and to provide more satisfying service. She added that the company will continue to invest to provide the best products and convenient service to consumers.
By Lee Han-na and Lee Eun-joo
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]