CJ Group bolsters mobile shopping thru combination of TV and online shopping brands

By Park Sae-jin Posted : April 29, 2021, 13:37 Updated : April 29, 2021, 13:37

[Courtesy of CJ Onstyle]


SEOUL -- South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group made a strategic choice to reform its TV and online shopping service brands into a mobile-focused one in a desperate attempt to survive in the so-called "mobile era" where everything is done through smartphones.

The mobile shopping market is growing at a breakneck speed thanks to a high smartphone penetration rate of 95 percent. According to data released by a state statistical information service, consumers spent some 9.3 trillion won ($8.4 billion) through mobile shopping services in August 2020, up 27.8 percent from a year ago.

While the mobile shopping service market is thriving with an annual growth rate of about 30 percent, the TV home shopping service market's annual average growth in 2020 was sluggish at about five percent mainly due to the reduced TV viewing time. According to the Korea Communications Commission, a state communications watchdog, South Korea's average viewing time stood at two hours and 42 minutes in 2019, down 16 percent from three hours and 14 minutes in 2013.

CJ O Shopping, the No.1 TV home shopping service, will be combined with other shopping brands to create "CJ Onstyle," an integrated mobile shopping service, on May 10. "It has been a long time since the paradigm in the conventional retail market has become a red ocean where cutthroat competition prevails," an unnamed CJ Onstyle official said in a statement on April 28.

The official said that the integrated service would become a frontier in the new retail market. The TV home shopping service operator would break down the boundary between TV and mobile shopping services so that consumers can access live home shopping content anywhere, anytime. CJ O Shopping will also provide a curated shopping service for picky female consumers aged between 35 and 54.

Along with a real-time curated service, the integrated service will offer one-night delivery. Popular products will be picked and curated based on big data of consumer demands. Fashion-related products and other daily necessities will be available through one-night deliveries.
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