Starbucks helps Shinsegae boost online business
SSG.com's website introduces its exclusive Starbucks store on its platform that opened on Nov. 225. / Courtesy of SSG.com
By Kim Jae-heun
By Kim Jae-heun
Starbucks Korea, which manages a joint venture with local retail giant Shinsegae, is helping its business partner improve its online business performance by opening an exclusive Starbucks store at the latter's outlets.
SSG.com, an e-commerce unit of Shinsegae, saw a 10-percent increase in overnight delivery orders and a 20-percent boost in sales one week after it started selling merchandise from the American coffeehouse chain, Nov. 25
Starbucks' limited edition “Green Stojo Silicon Cold Cup,” of which only 5,000 were available exclusively on SSG.com, sold out five minutes after going on sale.
The silicon cold-cup is a globally popular product that Starbucks launched in collaboration with the eco-friendly tumbler maker Stojo, and when SSG.com said it would introduce the item for the first time here, customers flocked to buy it upon the opening of its sale.
This helped SSG.com attract an 80 percent increase in first-time customers using its overnight delivery service.
Online ordering for Starbucks' snacks and desserts are also doing well. The government's regulation to limit customers in stores as part of social distancing measures has resulted in more customers ordering food online.
On the very first and second day of Starbucks' online store opening, classic scones, cheese bagels and blueberry bagels along with all other food items sold out.
Starbucks' e-coupons of 30,000 won and 50,000 won also rank as the top two choices in the online “gift sending” category on SSG.com.
SSG.com website shows Starbucks' Green Stojo Silicon Cold Cups are all sold out on Nov. 26. / Courtesy of SSG.com
This is not the first time SSG.com has ridden on the popularity of Starbucks merchandise. In October, the e-commerce firm gave out 100,000 cooler bags ― in collaboration with Starbucks ― to customers who made purchases of over 200,000 won online. The cooler bags came in two designs, one with a teddy bear riding in a car and another with the simple classic twin-tailed mermaid logo. The 30,000 teddy bear coolers sold out in just two days.
In the online second-hand market, SSG.com's cooler bags are currently traded for over 50,000 won.
In the spring, Starbucks caused a craze with its reward “summer-ready bag” item, which it offered to customers who purchased 17 drinks.
As the American coffeehouse chain continues to make a big hit with every piece of merchandise it offers, it will introduce more Christmas items this year.
Meanwhile, SSG.com is making every effort to chase after top competitors like Coupang and Naver in the local e-commerce market.
It revealed plans to increase the number of logistics centers in Gyeonggi Province from three to 11 by 2023 in an effort to speed up its overnight delivery service. When all the facilities are established, SSG.com is expected to make 260,000 deliveries a day up from the current daily average of around 20,000.