Baemin expands quick commerce to neighborhood markets

Baedal Minjok (Baemin), South Korea’s leading food delivery platform, is expanding its quick commerce service to neighborhood supermarkets, aiming to extend rapid delivery to smaller cities and areas with limited access to large retailers.

According to industry sources on Thursday, Woowa Brothers Corp., the operator of Baemin, has integrated its platform with the point-of-sale (POS) systems of about 5,000 small and midsize supermarkets in partnership with TOGETHERs Corp., a leading retails POS provider.

The rollout began Tuesday with Tomato Food Mart, with more stores expected to join gradually.

The integration links Baemin Store orders and inventory data with store POS systems in real time, allowing retailers to process orders and manage stock more efficiently. Previously, some neighborhood supermarkets on Baemin had to handle orders and inventory manually.

Although no official count is available, industry estimates put the number of neighborhood supermarkets in Korea at more than 10,000. Many also supply affordable ingredients to small local restaurants.

The partnership is expected to attract supermarket operators with multiple outlets.

Global market research firm Statista forecasts that Korea’s quick commerce market will grow to $4.3 billion by 2030 from $3.19 billion last year.

Retailers across sectors are expanding rapid delivery services through delivery apps. Convenience store chain GS25 recently added winter snacks, fish-shaped pastries and fish cakes, to its Baemin and Coupang Eats offerings, while CU expanded its delivery selection to 6,000-8,000 items.

Lotte Super began delivery through Coupang Eats at about 170 stores nationwide on September 7, bringing all four major corporate-owned supermarket chains onto the platform.

Lotte Department Store has also launched a pilot quick-commerce service through Coupang Eats.