Sales items of Chinese e-commerce (e-commerce) platforms that have entered Korea are spreading in all directions. Companies such as AliExpress and Temu, which drew attention mainly to ultra-cheap industrial products, are now expanding their territory to fashion, fresh food, and home appliances.

Experts warned, "As C-commerce companies' sales items expand to virtually all fields, they are expected to face off with Coupang and Naver in Korea," adding, "There is a concern that C-commerce companies will not only gain price competitiveness but also quality by securing domestic sellers to erode their domestic platform share."

On the 31st, Ali announced that the total transaction value (GMV) of sellers (sellers) this month increased by 152% compared to last month. As part of the "328 Promotion" recently held to mark the 15th anniversary of its foundation, it held discount events such as "the ultra-low-priced discount exhibition for 100 brands" and "the return 1,000 won deal." The 1,000 won deal is a discount event that was popular when Ali introduced it during the "100 billion Festa" in March last year. It is a method of selling popular domestic and foreign brand products for 1,000 won in a limited quantity on a first-come, first-served basis.

As a result of such a large discount event, △computer, office △ food △ home appliances △ electronic devices △ beauty and health products ranked at the top of the sales list in Ali. In the early days of entering the domestic market, Ali is hundredsAlthough the number of users has increased significantly as it has attracted attention as a low-cost industrial product in the range of several thousand won, it is now expanding its scope to a product group with relatively high unit prices and stable purchasers.

A representative example is the "auto" category, which was newly released earlier this month. During the 328 promotion period, the auto product line's average daily sales increased 173 percent from just before the event. It is also boosting sales in consumer goods that are close to daily life, such as tires, which value safety and brand reliability over price.

The recently released 'Ali Express Shinhan Card' is also popular. If you shop at Ali with this card, you will receive a 10% regular discount, and if you purchase more than 50,000 won by next month, you will receive an additional 20,000 won cashback benefit.

According to WiseApp and Retail, Ali and Temu are solidifying their second and third positions in the number of monthly active users among domestic malls. The number of Ali users grew rapidly from 3.35 million (7th) in January 2023 to 7.17 million (3rd) in the following year and 9.12 million in January this year. Temu also saw its number of users rise to around 8 million.

Ali is also increasing the proportion of fashion and fresh foods. Fashion sales sold last month at K Venue, a domestic seller's specialist, rose 38 times vertically compared to the same month last year. During the same period, the number of sellers entering private businesses also increased by 180%.

Alibaba Group recently invested KRW 100 billion in domestic shopping platform ABL. Accordingly, ABL Corporation, which operates ABL, appointed Ray Jang, CEO of AliExpress Korea, as other non-executive directors who are registered executives. This is why Ali is expected to be directly involved in Ably's management.

Lee Jong-woo, a business professor at Ajou University, said, "As Ali and Temu are targeting the domestic market in earnest, they are using a method of greatly increasing their price competitiveness to catch up with existing leaders Coupang and Naver," adding, "There is a risk that other domestic platforms that are behind in delivery power or price competitiveness will be eroded by C-commerce." Unlike Coupang, which uses rocket delivery, and Naver, which increases delivery power based on a wide range of users, other e-commerce companies warn that their competitive advantage over Ali and Temu is disappearing.

Temu recently signed a long-term lease contract with a distribution center in Gimpo Hangang New Town, Gyeonggi-do. The total floor area is about 165,000㎡ (about 50,000 pyeong). It is known that Ali is also preparing to open its own distribution center. If you set up a distribution center and enter a full-fledged delivery competition, you can provide faster delivery than domestic companies.