Despite KRW 65 Billion in Government Funding... Public Delivery App Loses 1.5 Million Users in Less Than a Year

Ttaenggyeoyo's MAU fell 42% from December to 2.05 million last month
Budget injections boost users, only for them to leave again
Fundamental strategy needed to strengthen platform competitiveness

The monthly active users (MAU) of the public delivery app Ttaengyeoyo have plunged this year. This marks a stark contrast with the end of last year, when the app surged past 3 million users, buoyed by government support, and emerged as an alternative in a delivery market beset by ongoing commission-fee disputes. In less than a year, the number of users it had gained has fallen away.

According to Mobile Index, operated by data platform company IGAWorks, Ttaengyeoyo had 2.05 million MAU last month. That is a steep drop of 1.51 million from its record high of 3.56 million in December last year, a 42.5% decline in less than a year.

The reason Ttaengyeoyo has been on a downward trend this year is that users drawn in by government support have since left the app. Ttaengyeoyo's user numbers fluctuated slightly month to month through June last year, before surging through the end of the year. In June, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs allocated KRW 65 billion from a supplementary budget to issue consumption coupons for public delivery apps. Local governments also joined in with promotional campaigns. Demand from people seeking to use the "People's Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupons" was also reflected in the figures. Industry analysts say that user numbers rose sharply thanks to this support, then plunged as its effects faded.

Ttaengyeoyo's decline also stands out against recent trends. According to Mobile Index, last month Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo recorded MAU of 24.06 million, 14.01 million and 3.74 million, respectively. Compared with the previous month, Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats saw slight declines of 1.4% and 3.0%, respectively, while Yogiyo fell 6.1%. September, with weather suited to outdoor outings, is typically considered an off-season for delivery orders. Although all the services saw declines, Ttaengyeoyo stood out with a 9.2% drop.

As a result, industry voices are growing louder that, if the government is to expand public delivery apps as planned and make them an alternative to intermediary commission fees, it needs a strategy to strengthen their platform competitiveness at a more fundamental level, rather than relying on one-off support. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has earmarked KRW 124 billion in next year's budget to promote public delivery apps. The initial plan was to spend KRW 120 billion on discount coupons and KRW 4 billion on publicity and marketing. Under the plan, three to four public delivery apps will be selected after their public value and market viability are assessed, and supported by linking them with local currencies and Onnuri gift certificates. The goal is to develop platforms that consumers, merchants and riders want to use. "A policy that devotes most of the budget to discount coupons will only repeat the cycle of users increasing and then leaving again," an industry official said. "We need an approach that strengthens the platforms' competitiveness so users will continue using them."

In response, Lee Soyoung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said at a parliamentary audit on October 7, "We are gathering ideas on how to revise the KRW 120 billion budget for public delivery app coupons. We will consider various measures, including strengthening incentives for riders."

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