Coupang to increase membership fees by 58% 쿠팡, 회비 월회비58% 인상

[김우정]

쿠팡이 월회비를 4,990원에서 7,890원으로 58%나 인상한다고 합니다.

풀랫폼기업의 전형적인 마케팅 기법입니다.

회사는 무료배송, 반품, 직구, OTT, 음식배달 등 5가지 서비스로 연 평균 97만원을 절감할 수 있다고 합니다.

알리, 테무 등 중국전자상거래 업체의 한국시장진출에 대응하기위한 것으로 보입니다.

기존 1,400만 가입자수의 변동이 주목됩니다.

Coupang to increase membership fees by 58%
쿠팡, 회비 월회비58% 인상

By Baek Byung-yeul 백병열 기자
Posted : 2024-04-12 16:24 Updated : 2024-04-12 16:34
Korea Times

A Coupang delivery employee unloads goods. The e-commerce company announced Friday that it will raise its Wow membership price to 7,890 won ($5.74) per month, up from 4,990 won. Courtesy of Coupang 쿠팡 배송직원이 짐을 내리고 있다. 이 회사는 와우 멤버십 가격을 기존 월 4,990원에서 7,890원(5.74달러)으로 인상한다고 28일 밝혔다. 쿠팡 제공

Many consumers displeased with steep price hike
많은 소비자들이 급격한 가격 인상에 불쾌함 표출

Coupang has decided to raise the price of its Wow paid membership service to 7,890 won ($5.74) per month, up 58 percent from the current 4,990 won, in an effort to improve profitability, but the abrupt price hike announcement has drawn criticism from users who think it is excessive, according to industry officials, Friday.
쿠팡이 수익성 개선을 위해 와우 유료 멤버십 서비스 가격을 현재 4,990원에서 58% 인상한 월 7,890원(5.74달러)으로 인상하기로 했지만 갑작스러운 가격 인상 발표로 과하다고 생각하는 이용자들의 비난이 쏟아지고 있다고 업계 관계자들이 금요일 전했다.

The nation’s top e-commerce company announced the membership price increase, Friday, saying it “will continue to expand its exclusive benefits for Wow members such as free shipping, free returns, unlimited OTT (over-the-top) service and free food delivery.”
국내 최고의 전자상거래 업체는 4일 "무료배송, 무료 반품, 무제한 OTT 서비스, 무료 음식 배달 등 와우 회원을 위한 독점 혜택을 지속적으로 확대하겠다."고 멤버십 가격 인상을 발표했다.

The company said new subscribers will be required to pay the increased price from Saturday and the price hike will also be applied to existing users from their August payment.
이 회사는 토요일부터 신규 가입자는 인상된 가격을 지불해야 하며 8월부터 기존 사용자에게도 가격 인상이 적용될 것이라고 밝혔다.

Given Coupang added it will keep investing in expanding its logistics infrastructure and advancing its technologies and nationwide delivery network, the move is also interpreted as an attempt to bolster profitability in preparation for the onslaught of rapidly growing Chinese e-commerce companies such as AliExpress in the Korean market.
쿠팡이 물류 인프라 확충과 기술 고도화, 전국 배송망 고도화 등에 지속적으로 투자할 것이라는 점에서 알리익스프레스 등 급성장하는 중국 전자상거래 업체들의 한국 시장 공략에 대비해 수익성을 강화하려는 의도로도 풀이된다.

Coupang launched the membership program in 2018, offering members benefits such as fast delivery that guarantees delivery by the next day and free returns.
쿠팡은 2018년 멤버십 프로그램을 시작해 다음날까지 배송을 보장하는 빠른 배송, 무료 반품 등의 혜택을 회원들에게 제공하고 있다.

The company has expanded the scope of benefits to free viewing of its Coupang Play video streaming service and free delivery for its Coupang Eats food delivery service. With such benefits, the company garnered around 14 million paying members as of the end of 2023.
이 회사는 혜택의 범위를 쿠팡 플레이 동영상 스트리밍 서비스 무료 시청과 쿠팡 이츠 음식 배달 서비스 무료 배달로 확장했다. 이러한 혜택으로 회사는 2023년 말 기준 약 1,400만 명의 유료 회원을 확보했다.

However, many users expressed dissatisfaction with the price hike announcement after only two years and four months, saying that the company raised the price after it thought the membership service was on track.
하지만 불과 2년 4개월 만에 가격을 올린 것에 대해 많은 이용자들이 멤버십 서비스가 본궤도에 오른 줄 알고 가격을 올렸다며 불만을 표시했다.

"Raising the price gradually from 2,900 won to 4,990 won and then again to 7,890 won makes me feel uncomfortable with the membership. I've been using the membership conveniently, but I'm skeptical whether I should continue to use the service because I think they will continue to raise the price in the future," a user, who claimed to be a member, wrote in an online community.
회원임을 밝힌한 이용자는 온라인 커뮤니티에 "2,900원에서 4,990원으로 서서히 가격을 올렸다가 다시 7,890원으로 올리는 것은 회원 가입에 불편함을 느끼게 한다며 그동안 회원 가입을 편리하게 이용해 왔지만 앞으로도 계속 가격을 올릴 것 같아 서비스를 계속 이용해야 할지 회의적,"이라고 온라인 커뮤니티에 적었다.

Another user questioned the company's motives for raising the price two days after the country’s April 10 general elections.
또 다른 사용자는 4월 10일 총선 이틀 후에 가격을 인상한 회사의 동기에 대해 의문을 제기했다.

"I think they were waiting for the general elections to end. If Coupang raises prices like this, I wonder if other consumer goods sectors will also raise prices,” a user wrote in another online community.
한 사용자는 또 다른 온라인 커뮤니티에 "총선이 끝나기만을 기다리고 있었던 것 같다,"며 "쿠팡이 이렇게 가격을 올리면 다른 소비재 부문도 가격을 올릴지 궁금하다"고 적었다.

Coupang claimed that its price hike was not significant, claiming that Wow membership would save millions of members about 970,000 won a year, and that millions of Wow members actually save about 1 million won a year.
쿠팡은 와우 멤버십으로 수백만 회원이 연간 약 97만원을 절약할 수 있고, 수백만 와우 회원이 실제로 연간 약 100만원을 절약할 수 있다고 주장하며 가격 인상이 크지 않다고 주장했다.

Coupang also provided a price comparison example, claiming that its video streaming service Coupang Play is cheaper than competitors such as Netflix, Tving, YouTube Premium and Disney+.
쿠팡은 자사 동영상 스트리밍 서비스 쿠팡플레이가 넷플릭스, 티빙, 유튜브 프리미엄, 디즈니+ 등 경쟁사보다 저렴하다고 가격 비교 사례도 제공했다.

“New members of Coupang's Wow membership will likely see more discounts in the future. Based on data from major organizations such as Statistics Korea, and assuming consumers’ typical spending patterns, it is estimated that Wow members who routinely use all five services, including free shipping, returns, direct purchases, OTT and food delivery, can save an average of 970,000 won per year compared to non-members,” a company official said.
회사 관계자는 "쿠팡 와우 멤버십 신규 회원은 앞으로 더 많은 할인 혜택을 볼 수 있을 것으로 보인다"고 말했다. 통계청 등 주요 기관의 자료와 소비자의 전형적인 지출 패턴을 가정했을 때 무료배송, 반품, 직구, OTT, 음식배달 등 5가지 서비스를 모두 일상적으로 이용하는 와우 회원은 비회원에 비해 연간 평균 97만원을 절감할 수 있는 것으로 추정된다"고 설명했다.

"We'll continue to surprise our customers with benefits that make Wow Membership the best service on the planet.”
"우리는 와우 멤버십을 지구상에서 최고의 서비스로 만드는 혜택으로 고객들을 계속 놀라게 할 것이다."

#Coupang쿠팡 #membership회원 #pricehike가격인상 #Wow와우 #benefits혜택 #e-commerce전자상거래 #delivery배송 #users이용자 #criticism비판 #profitability수익성