Local social commerce operators such as Coupang experienced a lucrative year due to the growth of various mobile channels, industry sources revealed Monday.

Coupang, the current market leader among domestic social commerce websites, saw its annual trading volume surge to 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year, up roughly 50 percent from the 800 billion won in 2012.

The company’s monthly transactions also reached a record high of 100 billion won last June.

The nation’s second-largest operator, Ticket Monster, is similarly reported to have exceeded 1.2 trillion won in trading volume, nearly a 65 percent increase from the previous year’s 728.4 billion won.

We Make Price also drew nearly 1 trillion won.

The wide popularity of shopping via mobile channels and applications appears to be the main driving force behind the success of local social commerce, market watchers stated.

For instance, Coupang and Ticket Monster have both encountered a boost in the ratio of mobile transactions to overall trading volume, according to sources.

Social commerce operators now plan to compete with open markets and even offline shopping channels by strengthening their services and enhancing customer loyalty.

(jhk@heraldcorp.com)