Is the 'tal-pang' exodus speeding up? Coupang users decline for two straight months as Naver Plus Store surges

[Financial News] Data show that Coupang’s user base plunged by more than 3% last month. Analysts say the so-called "tal-pang" phenomenon—users quitting Coupang after the customer data leak—is accelerating. At the same time, the demand leaving Coupang appears to be flowing into Naver Plus Store.
According to app analytics service Mobile Index, Coupang’s monthly active users stood at 33.18 million in January this year, down 3.2% from the previous month. The figure had risen 0.7% month-on-month to 34.39 million in November last year, but then slipped in December (down 0.3%) and again in January (down 3.2%), marking two consecutive months of decline. Observers note that Coupang’s dominance is not collapsing overnight, but the slowdown in its growth trend has become clear.
After the "tal-pang" wave, users appear to be flocking mainly to Naver. Naver Plus Store recorded 7.09 million users in January, a 10.0% increase from the previous month. This was the highest growth rate among the top eight general online marketplaces. Since November last year, its user numbers have been steadily rising, suggesting it is absorbing much of the demand leaving Coupang.
By contrast, other general marketplaces and cross-border shopping platforms have not seen clear spillover gains. AliExpress had 9.92 million users in November last year, but that number fell to 8.69 million in January this year, a 1.3% decline. Over the same period, 11st also dropped from 8.81 million to 8.10 million users, down 0.9%. Temu briefly rebounded in December, only to return to negative growth in January, slipping 0.3%.
Industry insiders largely agree that Coupang’s market dominance has not collapsed overnight. However, based on user traffic alone, many interpret the data as a sign that the general e-commerce market is shifting from a Coupang-centric structure into a phase where a post-"tal-pang" reshuffle is possible.
An industry official said, "Rather than Coupang users moving directly to rival general marketplaces, it is clear that much of the traffic has been absorbed by Naver Shopping," adding, "If the 'tal-pang' phenomenon continues to build up, it could mark the starting point of a major shake-up in the marketplace landscape."

clean@fnnews.com Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter