Korean SMEs Spend Up to 27.6% of Revenue on Delivery App Fees, Survey Shows Platform Cost Crisis

The Quick Take

• Korean SMEs on delivery apps spend an average 26.2% of monthly revenue on platform fees, the highest of any channel
• Coupang Eats charges the highest rate at 27.6%, followed by Yogiyo at 26.4%, per a survey of 1,250 businesses
• Overall average platform transaction costs for online merchants reached 21.7% of monthly revenue in 2026

A new survey covering 1,250 Korean small and medium enterprises found that businesses selling through delivery apps spend an average 26.2% of monthly revenue on platform fees, commissions, and advertising—the highest burden of any digital channel. The Korea Federation of SMEs conducted the survey across major platforms including Coupang, Naver, Musinsa, Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats, Yogiyo, Yanolja, and Yeogieottae between June and July 2026. The data reveals that the economic dependence of SMEs on platform infrastructure has intensified even as platform fees have risen year on year across every category.

Coupang Eats led with the highest fee burden at 27.6%, followed by Yogiyo at 26.4%, while online shopping malls averaged 20.6% and accommodation apps 18.3%. Compared with the prior year, fee burdens rose 5.2 percentage points for delivery apps, 2.0 for shopping malls, and 0.8 for accommodation, showing accelerating platform monetisation across the board. The data has immediate implications for the profitability and pricing power of Korean platform operators—Kakao, Coupang, and Naver—whose fee structures are now under explicit political and regulatory scrutiny as SMEs organise around the affordability crisis.

Regulatory risk for Korean platform companies is rising sharply as this data provides quantified evidence that platform fee extraction is eroding SME margins. Korea's Fair Trade Commission has been reviewing platform-SME relationship dynamics, and this survey gives regulators concrete benchmarks to mandate fee caps or disclosure requirements. Investors in Coupang, Naver, and Kakao should monitor FTC statements and proposed platform regulation bills in the National Assembly, which represent the most direct threat to the current fee monetisation model that these valuations depend upon.

Synthesized from 2 sources.