Coupang receives fees from small firms that exceed the average level and has the longest settlement period among major platforms.

According to the Korea Federation of SMEs’ survey on 2025 online platform transactions released on December 2, 162 small firms that use Coupang as their main mall pay an average of 20.6 percent of sales to the company in fees, logistics costs and advertising expenses. The rate is 1.8 percentage points above the overall average of 18.8 percent and is the second highest after Musinsa at 23.2 percent.

Respondents said the heaviest burdens were sales commissions at 50 percent, logistics costs at 29 percent and advertising expenses at 19.8 percent. Coupang’s brokerage sales commission rate is 14.21 percent, above the overall average of 13.82 percent.

Settlement also takes longer. Thirty four percent said receiving settlement payments takes 51 days or more, while other malls posted single digit responses for the same answer. The effect on sales growth was limited at an average of 3.64 points on a five point scale, placing Coupang fourth among six major malls.

The Korea Federation of SMEs said Coupang is shifting cost burdens by using its market position and argued that improvements to the online ecosystem are needed.