Temu's monthly active users in Korea approach 7 million

The presence of Chinese e-commerce platforms in South Korea is really increasing.

According to statistics recently released by the Korean agency IGA Works , Temu's new installations in South Korea reached 2.28 million last month, ranking first among all applications. It is worth mentioning that TikTok 's new installations were 1.5 million, closely following Temu.

Since entering South Korea in July last year , Temu's new installations have maintained a steady growth. At the same time, Temu's monthly active users (MAU) reached 6.93 million last month, an increase of more than 570,000 from 6.357 million in the previous month. Among shopping apps, Temu's ranking also rose from fifth to fourth.

As the presence of Chinese e-commerce platforms increases, Korean consumers are purchasing more and more goods from Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms.

Earlier this year, data released by the Korea National Statistical Office showed that in 2023, South Korea's cross-border e-commerce imports from China surged 121.2% year-on-year to 3.3 trillion won; the number of goods also reached 88.8 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 70.3%. This is the first time that China has surpassed the United States to become South Korea's largest source of cross-border e-commerce imports.

This trend continued into the first quarter of this year. According to data recently released by the Korea National Statistical Office, the total amount of goods purchased online by Korean consumers from China in the first quarter of this year once again soared by more than 50%.

In the first quarter of this year, the total amount of cross-border online shopping by Korean consumers was 1.65 trillion won (about US$1.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, setting a new record for the same period.

Among them, the total transaction volume of goods purchased online from China was 938.4 billion won, an increase of 53.9% compared with the same period last year, accounting for 57% of the total overseas e-commerce shopping of Korean consumers. The United States accounted for 22.8%, and the European Union accounted for 8.6%.

The popularity of Chinese cross-border e-commerce in South Korea has benefited not only consumers but also local logistics companies. With the surge in parcel volume, the performance of South Korean logistics companies has also improved. In the second half of 2023, the operating profits of CJ Logistics and Hanjin Logistics increased by 16.6% and 7%, respectively.

In order to cope with the surge in orders from China and for better development, Korean logistics companies have also worked hard to expand their infrastructure.

It is reported that Korea Logistics has invested 10 billion won (7.4 million U.S. dollars) to expand the self-service customs clearance facilities at the Global Distribution Center at Incheon National Airport, with the goal of doubling the monthly processing efficiency from the current 1.1 million boxes to 2.2 million boxes.

Hanjin Shipping, which is responsible for customs clearance and distribution at Temu, also plans to start operating the expanded factory by the end of this year.

In addition, CJ Logistics, South Korea's largest logistics company , also plans to expand its facilities in the cargo terminal of Incheon International Airport, which is responsible for the customs clearance of overseas direct purchases - increasing its production capacity from the current 2 million boxes to 10 million boxes.

Temu

South Korea

E-commerce platform