[Exclusive] Baemin Introduces "Integrated Discount" with Priority Delivery Fee Discount for Consumers

Integrated Discount Introduced to Baemin Delivery from Mid-July

Expanded Delivery Fee Discounts Aim to Prevent User Churn

Baemin will revise its discount policy, which is currently shouldered by partners (store owners), to encourage more stores to offer the "free delivery fee" benefit as a priority. Under the new policy, discounts will be applied to the delivery fee before the food price, aiming to reduce the delivery fee that consumers pay. This move is intended to prevent user attrition in response to Coupang Eats expanding its free delivery service.

According to industry sources on June 24, Baemin announced that starting July 13, the "discount on all order amounts" applied to Baemin Delivery will be changed to an "integrated discount." With the integrated discount, the reduction is first applied to the delivery fee paid by the customer, and any remaining discount is then applied to the order amount. If store owners offering Baemin Delivery, such as Economy Delivery or Single-Order Delivery, select the integrated discount, the discount will first be applied to the customer’s delivery fee.

Attracting Consumers Who Feel Burdened by Delivery Fees... Store Owners Are Reluctant

Baemin introduced this policy to increase orders from consumers who are discouraged by delivery fees. Baemin explained that stores aggressively offering delivery fee discounts saw their order conversion rates rise by up to 4.6 times compared to stores that did not, and that the conversion rate for a full delivery fee discount was even higher than that for a 4,000 won discount on the order amount. Baemin has also announced that for stores switching to the integrated discount from July 13, it will subsidize 12% of the delivery fee discount costs for 90 days.

A Baemin representative said, "The integrated discount is designed to reduce the hassle for store owners of separately discounting the order amount and the delivery fee, and to increase the likelihood of orders from customers who feel burdened by delivery fees," adding, "If the order conversion rate increases due to the delivery fee discount, we expect store owners’ revenues to increase as well."

The key issue is how to dispel concerns among merchants that the integrated discount policy change could increase their commission burden. This is because Baemin’s commission is calculated based on the food order amount, and food discounts are applied after the delivery fee discount. One store owner pointed out, "The delivery fee for Baemin Delivery varies by distance, and in the end, stores might end up absorbing the delivery fees that should be borne by customers."

The details of the "Integrated Discount" that Baemin will apply starting July 13. Baemin

Countermove to Coupang Eats' Expansion of Free Delivery

This policy change is also seen as a strategy to counter Coupang Eats' aggressive expansion of free delivery. Since May 21, Coupang Eats has been offering free delivery benefits to regular members until the end of August. Previously, free delivery on Coupang Eats was only available to paying members of Coupang Wow. This is interpreted as a bold strategy to win back members lost during the Coupang personal data leak incident.

After Coupang Eats expanded its free delivery service, the number of users saw a slight increase. According to Mobile Index by IGAWorks, the weekly active users (WAU) of Coupang Eats increased from 8.58 million (April 11-17) to 9.22 million (June 1-7) before and after the expansion of free delivery. For the week of June 15-21, marking the first month of the policy, the weekly active users remained at around 8.93 million.

Baemin has also taken active defensive measures, offering a 30-day free Baemin Club membership and launching summer promotions. As of the last week of May (May 25-31), when Coupang Eats expanded free delivery, Baemin’s weekly active users surged to 17.45 million before stabilizing at 16.81 million for the week of June 15-21. Baemin is currently offering a 30-day free trial of its paid membership product, Baemin Club, as well as running large-scale promotions such as "Meal Luck Festa" to retain customers and prevent churn.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.