We know that the e-commerce sector is very cut throat and this is not just about the US or the UK but the same situation is there everywhere around the world. The reason being that while the barrier to entry is higher, people know how to do this business and so they start it but to sustain it for the long term is very difficult. Now, we are here to tell you about an e-commerce firm that has decided to exit one of its major markets. The company we are talking about is Korea’s Coupang which has just announced that they are exiting the Japanese market.
It is interesting to note that Coupang started its operations in the Japanese market in June 2021 and it gained a lot of popularity because of its quick commerce service which delivered food and other grocery items in just 10 minutes in two major cities of Japan. However, it looks like something happened inside the company that prompted them to withdraw from the market just after 21 months of operation. A Coupang Japan official said “After testing our service as a pilot version, we have decided to withdraw our business from Japan,”
Nikkei reported that Coupang will terminate its operations in Japan’s Meguro and Setagaya region of Tokyo on March 21 and the reason behind the same is not known yet. Also, Coupang Japan declined to comment on this situation as well. Local customers found Coupang’s offering a bit underwhelming because of the fact that Japan already has a strong culture of convenience store business.
Japan also has a very high senior population in the world which is said to be about 29 of the country’s total population who are over 65 years old. It is obvious that the senior population won’t be going for the online grocery shopping option as much as the young generation would. This could be the reasons behind Coupang’s exit from Japan. The company also said that they are better-off focusing on its core markets such as Korea and Taiwan where they already have a strong presence. It is known that Coupang in Taiwan is very popular as well.