Korea E-commerce: Coupang June GMV grew 4%...Getting richer doesn‘t mean buying groceries twice

Research evidence excerpt

Korea E-commerce: Coupang June GMV grew 4%...Getting richer doesn‘t mean buying groceries twice

7 July 2026

Korea Internet

Korea E-commerce: Coupang June GMV grew 4%...Getting richer

doesn't mean buying groceries twice

We share our June GMV update across major e-commerce and food delivery platforms, Min-Joo Kang

+852 2123 2644 together with the latest May market data. Recently, investor discussions have centered on

minjoo.kang@bernsteinsg.com one question: Will Coupang benefit as Koreans become wealthier? We believe this is the

wrong lens through which to view the opportunity. Instead, the key issue is how spending

Robin Zhu patterns are evolving within Korea's increasingly polarized consumer landscape. In this note,

+852 2123 2659

robin.zhu@bernsteinsg.com we outline our views on the Korean retail market and assess the respective growth runways

for Coupang and Naver.

Charles Gou

+852 2123 2618 Korea is getting richer, but not equally. Korea's affluent population continues to expand.

charles.gou@bernsteinsg.com The number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) reached 576k in 2025 (+3.3% YoY),

while their share of the population increased to 0.9% from 0.7% in 2020. At the same time,

Hyrum Caesar wealth concentration is accelerating: the top decile now accounts for 46.1% of national +81 3 6777 6979

hyrum.caesar@bernsteinsg.com net wealth in 2025, up 1.6ppt YoY, while the highest income quintile captured 45.2%

of household income in Q1 2026, up 0.8ppt YoY. These trends point to an increasingly

pronounced K-shaped economy.

Premium spending is flowing to department stores, not groceries. Affluent

consumers do not simply buy more everyday necessities. Instead, incremental spending

is increasingly concentrated in premium and luxury brands such as Chanel, Van Cleef &