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In the stagnant domestic e-commerce market, the formula for survival is changing. As a structure where users of major platforms significantly overlap has become established, sellers are faced with a so-called zero-sum game, competing through advertising and discounts for the exact same customers. For this reason, sellers' interest has recently shifted from "where to sell more" to "where to meet new customers." Whether a platform can secure new demand that does not overlap with existing customers has emerged as a new competitive edge, rather than the sheer transaction volume of the platform.

Consequently, AliExpress, once regarded merely as an ultra-low-cost Chinese direct-purchase platform, is recently drawing attention as a new growth channel for sellers, driven by its dedicated domestic brand pavilion, K-Venue.

According to Statistics Korea on July 2, domestic online shopping transaction volume reached a record high of approximately 272 trillion won last year, but the growth rate was limited to 4.9%. While the market size continues to expand, the pace of growth is slowing down.

Amid these changes, AliExpress's K-Venue is growing its presence. According to Wiseapp Retail Goods, the combined estimated transaction volume of three Chinese e-commerce platforms—AliExpress, Temu, and Shein—from January to April this year was tabulated at 1.67 trillion won. This represents a 67.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Among them, AliExpress ranked first based on estimated transaction volume.

Analysts suggest that as major platforms like Naver and Coupang see their user bases enter a mature stage, competition targeting the same customer base is intensifying. Accordingly, sellers are increasingly showing interest in channels that can secure a new consumer base that does not overlap with existing customers.

The reason sellers are paying attention to AliExpress is that its user base partially differs from existing domestic platforms. Recently, as consumers seeking domestic brands flow in through K-Venue, the platform is evaluated as playing the role of a window to secure a new customer base that was difficult to meet through traditional channels.

Another core strength is its global scalability. AliExpress has expanded its global selling program for brands onboarded to K-Venue, establishing a foundation to expose products to overseas consumers in the United States, Japan, and Europe. Foreign consumers residing in South Korea are also cited as a new demand segment that does not overlap with the existing customer base.

In fact, onboarded companies are experiencing these effects firsthand. ForYou Company, a daily necessities brand, joined AliExpress K-Venue to secure a new customer base.

Jang Dong-won, CEO of ForYou Company, said, "Rather than competing for the same customers within a limited market, our goal was to expand overall sales by securing new consumers. While maintaining sales from existing channels, the new sales generated through AliExpress were added, expanding our total transaction volume."

ForYou Company's monthly average gross merchandise volume (GMV) on AliExpress this year increased by 127% compared to the previous year. The company explained that a significant portion of the incoming customers did not overlap with those from existing sales channels.

J&U, a bathroom supplies brand, also saw its monthly average transaction volume increase by about 50% year-on-year after onboarding to K-Venue. Its customer base, which had been heavily concentrated in the 40s and 50s, also expanded across various age groups.

Experts interpret this trend as a paradigm shift in platform competition. While entering a platform with a large transaction volume was the primary growth strategy in the past, the core of sales strategy has now become how many new, non-overlapping customers a seller can secure.

                                                                                                      Jeong Moon-kyung