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Gmarket seeks payment efficiency with SmilePay


Gmarket, the country’s largest online shopping site, introduced a payment system that will save shoppers both time and energy.

With “SmilePay,” users’ credit cards, CVC codes and identification numbers are automatically stored after they are first entered. This information is then brought up when the shoppers seeks to use their credit cards -- issued by Samsung and Hyundai -- to shop at Gmarket by typing in an authentication number that is sent to their mobile phones.

“One does not have to repeat the process of entering one’s credit card number, CVC code and other information every time one tries to buy products at Gmarket,” said Lee Sang-min, spokesman for the online shopping mall.

“There is also no security patch or additional pop-up programs required to run the program, and this has helped shorten the purchasing time,” Lee added.

Particularly for shoppers who log onto Gmarket with their smartphones, which have much smaller screens than desktops or laptops, it will become that much easier to make purchases, the spokesman said.

This is not the first time Gmarket has devised marketing innovations to make shopping easier.

In 2006, Gmarket became the first local online shopping mall to run an English service. Those with overseas IPs are instantly rerouted to the English site, where foreign venders are given tailored support from consultants.

The company has also started overseas deliveries to the U.S., Australia, Canada and other countries, allowing people outside Korea to shop with ease.

As a result, Gmarket’s English service saw an 18 percent rise in sales in 2012 compared to 2011, and a 32 percent increase in 2013, compared to a year earlier.

Another area Gmarket is working on is IT system support.

In 2013, Apple Mac users were enabled to access Gmarket without having to use Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers. Since 2012, the company has supported Chrome and Firefox Internet browsers for credit card use, becoming the first to do so among domestic open market platforms.

In 2009, Gmarket became the first Korean online shopping mall to release a smartphone app for iPhones. In April 2010 an app for the Android system was introduced, followed by November’s release of an iPad app.

In October last year, through the app the company introduced “G9,” a shopping section where selected items by merchandisers are on display.

“We are working on these and many other programs to meet the customer demands,” said Kang Sun-hwa, marketing executive at Gmarket.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)