Korea’s top online shopping platform eBay Korea will expand its Smile Boxes service, parcel delivery lockers enabling shoppers to pick up their purchases at more flexible hours, to gas stations and grocery stores across the country.

Currently the service is restricted to GS25 convenience stores and college dormitories.

The company said Wednesday that it has teamed up with local gas station and grocery store operators GS Caltex, SK Energy, and GS Retail to install its Smile Boxes at their outlets. It said the lockers will be available for parcel delivery and pick up 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for goods purchased at Gmarket, Auction and other online shopping malls operated by eBay Korea.

The first batch of its new Smile Boxes will be installed in two GS Caltex gas stations and one SK Energy gas station in southwestern part of Seoul with high concentration of young population. Also, it will be adding them to 18 GS Supermarket outlets across the capital city.

Connecting e-commerce with grocery stores and gas stations that are closely linked to everyday lives is expected to create a big synergy, said the company.

The e-commerce giant introduced Smile Boxes in September 2016. Now, its delivery lockers are found in nearly 600 locations in and around Seoul.

By Lee Duk-joo and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]