eBay Korea’s Auction, Gmarket expands O2O reach

By Won Ho-jung

Published : June 7, 2016 - 14:31

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E-commerce platforms Auction and Gmarket, run by eBay Korea, will expand their online-to-offline shopping services with a new delivery network launching in August, the company said Tuesday.

Since its mobile launch in March 2011, Auction has continued to offer new services in the O2O market.

Auction’s A.Tag service (eBay Korea)

Last October, the e-commerce platform launched a new technology called A.Tag which allows shoppers to make additional purchases of a previously purchased product by touching an NFC-enabled smartphone to the tag.

In May this year, it also created an offline music shop where customers could try out premium audio equipment before purchasing them through the online platform via QR codes.

The parent firm is also working on improving delivery experiences to culminate each purchase. Through a service tentatively called Smile Box launching in August, eBay’s open markets will be partnering with GS25 convenience stores to enable customers to collect their packages at the outlets.

Auction’s offline audio store “Cheongeum” (eBay Korea)

The free service is designed for customers who have no one to receive packages at home during the day. The firm said the service is expected to have wide demand from women who live alone and have safety concerns about having delivery men come to their home.

“Through Korea’s main open markets Gmarket and Auction, we are introducing and promoting new technologies in shopping that will move customers’ hearts, beyond one-time satisfaction,” said a spokesman of eBay Korea.

By Won Ho-jung hjwon@heraldcorp.com">(hjwon@heraldcorp.com)

eBay Korea’s Auction, Gmarket expands O2O reach

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