At eBay Korea, and their subsidiary marketplace Gmarket, they’re looking at an emerging trend. And that’s commerce without face to face contact. And crucially video is important: “More and more millennials are engaging with video content more than any other traditional media platform. YouTube and other video platforms have become a go-to source for receiving information on news, trends and current events.” And the marketplaces are engaging with that trend, as we’ve said before.
But in Korea, it not just a lack of human contact in buying that’s attractive but also when it comes to fulfilment and collection of the goods. There is interest in commerce where people make no contact with each other at all that also extends to collections and delivery.
As eBay blog post called How eBay Korea’s Gmarket is Attracting Millennials notes:
Combining the prefix ‘un’ with ‘contact’, the new term addresses the removal of person-to-person interaction when seeking products and services. In line with this trend, eBay Korea’s Smile Box, an unmanned delivery box, is gaining in popularity, while ensuring safety and privacy. A recent analysis found that 70% of total Smile Box users are in their 20s and 30s who use it when buying groceries. Smile Boxes are now installed in over 17,000 locations across South Korea, including convenience stores and college dormitories.
– eBay Blog
And this video highlights some of the new ideas that eBay is exploring in South Korea:
