E-commerce memberships are shifting to “tweezers-style” offerings targeting specific customer groups. They optimise benefits to match the basket characteristics of core customers.

As of December last year, the cumulative number of subscribers to Kurly’s “Kurly Members” exceeded 2.75 million. That was up 94 percent from 1.42 million a year earlier.

Kurly provides monthly discount vouchers exclusively for Beauty Kurly and Kurly Only products, and lowered the free delivery threshold to 20,000 won from 40,000 won to target homemakers and one-person households interested in fine dining. The company says the resubscription rate is 97 percent and the purchase conversion rate is more than 6 times higher than for non-members.

A “psychological zero won” structure, in which members pay 1,900 won a month and receive 2,000 won back as reward points, also helped lower the barrier to joining. A Kurly official said the programme is characterised by offering a carefully selected set of highly usable benefits. The official added Kurly plans to expand tangible benefits by strengthening cooperation with partner brands and increasing special-price products.

Shinsegae Group has wrapped up its group-wide “Universe Club” membership launched in 2023 and switched this year to specialised memberships by affiliate. First, SSG.com introduced “Sseuk Seven Club,” highlighting grocery-shopping benefits. It provides a fixed 7 percent points accrual on grocery purchases.

Its main target is people in their 30s and 40s. Among 700,000 people who signed up for pre-launch notifications, those in their 40s accounted for 43 percent.

Shinsegae Group will add a bundled option with TVING in March to also target people in their 20s and 30s. An SSG.com official said it is an intuitive membership that concentrates benefits on grocery points accrual. The official added the company will focus on raising perceived benefits by continuously offering linked special-price products and promotions.

Naver designed “Naver Plus Membership” in a modular format. It allows users to pick and choose benefits through partnerships with external platforms. Users can combine options such as Spotify, Netflix, Xbox Game Pass, Uber and Lotte Mart’s Zeta Pass. Spotify is mainly chosen by people in their 20s, while Netflix and Game Pass are selected by men in their 30s and 40s, and the mart option is mostly chosen by homemakers.

Cooperation with various external platforms also had a positive impact on attracting new customers. Right after partnering with Netflix, average daily new sign-ups increased 1.5 times. People in their 30s and 40s made up more than 60 percent of new subscribers, and sign-ups by men aged 35 to 49 rose noticeably. A Naver official said the membership subscription retention rate is about 95 percent, showing strong loyalty. The official added Naver will expand its partner portfolio and deepen cooperation.

11st launched its free membership “11st Plus” in May last year. It introduced category-based “clubs” such as mart, beauty and campus, raising discount rates in each category. The mart club offers up to 7 percent points accrual, the beauty club offers up to 25 percent discounts on popular brands, and the campus club provides digital and IT special deals after student verification. It has been effective with value-focused people in their 20s and 30s and with university students, and has now surpassed 1.3 million members.

An 11st official said that as more customers focus on practical spending amid high inflation, the free membership strategy without subscription fees is proving effective in securing repeat customers. The official added the company will continue to focus on acquiring customers centred on 11st Plus this year.

Data analysis capabilities are also serving as the technical infrastructure for the retail industry to advance memberships.

Lee Eun-hee, an emeritus professor in the Department of Consumer Science at Inha University, said the industry is sharply increasing hiring of data scientists. She said demand for tweezers-style memberships has long been high, but it was hard to distinguish customers who respond from those who only consume marketing costs. She said advances in technology such as AI have made it possible to optimise marketing to maximise efficiency relative to cost.