Selling Fashion to Korea on Coupang

If you’re a fashion seller looking to expand to Korea, you should check out Coupang! With approximately 19 million customers shopping for their everyday needs, listing your items on Coupang is a logical step for any seller who wants to give their apparel the best chance for sales success. With approximately 19 million customers shopping for their everyday needs, listing your items on Coupang is a logical step for any seller who wants to give their items the best chance for sales success in Korea. Coupang is also the 4th largest e-Commerce market after China, the US, & UK.   

Since Coupang has become an integral part of the lives of so many customers across Korea, who buy everything from bottled water to their latest phone on Coupang, fashion has also become incredibly popular among customers and a profitable category for sellers. In fact, over 58% of Coupang customers buy fashion items on Coupang. Fashion is also a major area of growth for Coupang, with a large increase in sales between 2020 and 2021. Luxury brands such as Nina Ricci, Giambatista Valli, JW Anderson, Gant and Repetto have already chosen to sell on Coupang. We’ve also seen luxury fashion brands recruit K-POP idols to be their brand ambassadors, such as Jisoo from BlackPink become a Global Ambassador for Dior and RM from BTS become a Global Ambassador for Bottega Veneta, showing the increasing popularity of luxury foreign brands among young people.  

During the summer of 2023, fashion items such as Tommy Hilfiger knit sweaters, Ralph Lauren collared shirts, rainboots, Channel sandals and bags, and BaoBao tote bags have become popular among Korean consumers. Most top products are summer fashion items like rainboots, sandals, and short sleeve shirts, as well as luxury brand bags and purses. 

Top fashion trends of 2023 

Current fashion trends are being influenced by the rise of Y2K fashion fueled by Gen Z consumers and the revival of popular animated characters that stir up youth nostalgia, such as Hello Kitty and Sailor Moon. Fashion trends, which usually cycle every five to ten years, have come back to the Y2K era fashion trends from the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s. The Korea Herald shared data compiled by the Kakao Style’s mobile shopping app Zigzag, whose major customers are Koreans in their teens and 20s, showed that search volume for Y2K jumped 61 times on-year in January and February of 2023. Iconic Y2K fashion items include low-rise pants or skirts, cable-knit sweaters, crop tops, varsity jackets, vivid color schemes, and denim-on-denim looks.  

Now that you know exactly what kind of fashion and apparel you want to sell, you may be wondering, “How much does it cost to sell fashion on Coupang?” First, it’s important to remember Coupang doesn’t have any sign-up fees, so it’s free to register. Once you start making sales, you will be charged a 10.5% sales commission rate. In order to start selling branded labels on Coupang, you will need to establish proof of distribution channel. Coupang takes authenticity seriously and we work hard to ensure all products sold on Coupang are genuine.  For more detailed information on all of the above, please refer to our Coupang Seller Fashion Handbook here.

If you have any other burning questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to helpseller_global@coupang.com.