Kakao's online shopping wing teams up with southern province to promote sales of regional specialties

By Kim Joo-heon Posted : November 16, 2021, 16:58 Updated : November 16, 2021, 17:25

[Courtesy of North Jeolla Province]

SEOUL -- Kakao Commerce, the online shopping wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao, has teamed up with North Jeolla Province to help local farmers and business operators increase the number of sales channels through Kakao's online shopping platform. Kakao Commerce will hold special events to promote sales of various agricultural products and regional specialties including ginseng.

North Jeolla Province said in a statement on November 16 that the local government has signed a cooperation agreement with Kakao Commerce to help local business operators and farmers gain competitiveness in South Korea's agricultural product market through Kakao's online shopping platform. The local government will promote sales of various agricultural products and regional specialties through "Talk Deal," a shopping service that provides a discount when two users buy a product together. More than 380,000 products have been sold through Talk Deal since it was launched in 2019. 

Kakao Commerce, which has about 35 million users, provides e-commerce service through Kakao Talk. The online commerce platform is integrated into the country's favorite smartphone messenger app with some 45 million monthly active users. "We look forward to diversifying the market for agricultural products in North Jeolla Province as well as establishing a new form of digital cooperation between the province and private companies," North Jeolla governor Song Ha-jin was quoted as saying.

Kakao has focused on promoting the sales of local products and regional specialties to beef up the local economies. In September 2018, some 70 kinds of Kakao Friends, emoticon characters of Kakao's messenger app, were sold in an exclusive shop located at the Jeju International Airport in the southern resort island of Jeju. The characters were decorated with regional specialties and features that represent the island such as tangerines and palm trees. In November 2020, Kakao Commerce provided a membership service that connects Jeju's orchards with urban residents. When users gain membership, fruits harvested from orchards are provided in the form of regular subscriptions.
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