Homegrown e-commerce platforms gain ground as Coupang slows after data leak – 매일경제

South Korean e-commerce platforms are seeing an increase in their user base as an exodus from e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. continues after its massive customer data leak.
According to app and payment data-based market analysis firm Wiseapp·Retail on Monday, Coupang’s monthly active users (MAU) declined 0.2 percent on year in February.
Although its MAU had shown an on-month decline over the past three months from December 2025 to February 2026 since the data leak, it had maintained an upward trend compared with the same period a year earlier. In February, however, MAU dropped for the first time compared to a year earlier.
Coupang’s on-year MAU growth rate stood at 6.9 percent in September, 7.2 percent in October, 7 percent in November, and 5.3 percent in December.
The growth rate then slowed to 0.8 percent in January this year before ultimately turning negative last month.
Industry observers believe the exodus from Coupang that emerged after the data leak is now beginning to be fully reflected in user metrics.
Coupang’s revenue rose from 41 trillion won ($28.02 billion) to 49 trillion won last year, but its fourth-quarter operating profit fell 97 percent during the same period.
While some users are leaving Coupang, Korean e-commerce platforms are gaining momentum.
Gmarket Inc.’s MAU reached 6.96 million in February, up 11.4 percent from a year earlier.
Its gross merchandise value also increased over the same period, marking two consecutive months of positive growth.
Its MAU growth trend has also continued.
Over the past six months, its on-year MAU growth rates were 30.1 percent in September 2025, 26.1 percent in October, 22.1 percent in November, 32 percent in December, and 25.4 percent in January 2026.
Kurly Inc. is also benefiting from the Coupang exodus.
According to Kurly, its MAU increased by more than 30 percent on year as of the end of last year.
The number of active subscribers to Kurly Members has also grown each month, reaching about 1.4 million.
In the fourth quarter of last year alone, when the Coupang data breach occurred, more than 200,000 new net subscribers were added, the company said.
The MAU of Chinese e-commerce platforms AliExpress and Temu, on the other hand, either declined or saw their growth slow.
AliExpress’s MAU declined 1.9 percent in December 2025, 4.5 percent in January 2026, and 4.8 percent in February, while Temu saw declines of 1.9 percent and 3.2 percent in December and January, respectively, before slightly recovering to 0.4 percent in February.
“Following the Coupang data breach, consumers have begun reassessing platform trustworthiness and security issues,” said an industry insider. “As some users move to other domestic platforms, homegrown e-commerce companies appear to be enjoying a spillover benefit.”
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