Amazon is scaling up same-day grocery delivery across the U.S., highlighting key challenges and opportunities for Korea’s already heated dawn delivery market.
Amazon Expands Same-Day Grocery Delivery
Amazon announced plans to offer same-day grocery delivery in 2,300 U.S. locations by the end of this year. Already active in over 1,000 cities, the company is expanding coverage by adding refrigerated and frozen facilities to existing fulfillment centers. According to Costa, Amazon is retrofitting existing infrastructure instead of building new warehouses to reduce investment costs.
Korea’s Dawn Delivery Market: Already Overheated
In Korea, fresh food delivery is already part of daily life. Market Kurly, Coupang, and SSG.com dominate the market, which has matured rapidly. Coupang operates over 100 logistics centers nationwide, ensuring that 70% of the population lives within 10 km of a hub—similar to Amazon’s “20-minute reach” strategy.
Cold Chain: Rising as a Core Infrastructure
As fresh food deliveries increase, cold chain logistics centers are becoming essential. However, data from the Global Cold Chain Alliance suggests Korea’s per capita cold storage capacity still lags behind the U.S. Companies like CJ Logistics and Lotte Global Logistics are expanding multi-temperature warehouses, while AI-driven temperature monitoring systems are being adopted.
Profitability Requires Technology Investment
Grocery margins are slim, making delivery efficiency critical for survival. Amazon has introduced logistics robots and AI-driven fleet management (DeepFleet) to maximize throughput. Korean companies are also investing in AGVs and automated sorting robots. Ultimately, without automation, sustainable profitability in fresh food delivery is unlikely.
Key Lessons from Amazon
Amazon’s strategy rests on two pillars: maximizing existing infrastructure and leveraging steady grocery demand during economic downturns. For Korea’s retail sector, the path forward includes expanding cold chain, adopting AI and automation, scaling nationwide delivery networks, and strengthening membership and advertising revenue models. The winner will be the one that delivers “faster, fresher, and more efficiently.”
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