South Korean Department Store The Hyundai Launches Experimental E-commerce Platform

South Korean department store chain The Hyundai has launched "The Hyundai Hi," a new e-commerce platform designed to shift consumer behavior away from traditional price-driven competition toward taste-based curation. Developed in collaboration with creative agency Base Design, the app integrates fashion, beauty, and home goods with a gamified, editorial-driven interface. This strategic move aims to extend the physical department store's influence into the digital realm by prioritizing discovery and influencer-led recommendations over standard algorithmic rankings.

Since its soft launch in April, The Hyundai Hi has demonstrated significant growth, generating approximately $35.3 million (54 billion South Korean won) in gross merchandise value, representing a 43.5 percent year-over-year increase compared to the retailer’s previous online store. The platform has seen a massive surge in engagement, with registered users increasing nearly 560 percent and overall traffic rising 300 percent to 18.5 million clicks. This performance comes despite South Korea’s highly competitive e-commerce landscape, which is typically defined by ultra-fast delivery and aggressive price wars.

The app features more than 3,000 brands and utilizes a semi-gamified, Pinterest-like visual interface that emphasizes discovery through "gems" and a "saved item" function instead of a traditional "add to cart" button. To differentiate itself from the monotonous rankings common in local e-commerce, the platform introduces curation models like "MeSpace" and the "Icon Shop." These sections leverage a growing network of 27 "Icons"—including actress Lee Yi-Dam, model Hong Tae Jun, and writer Lee Seula—who provide personal shopping edits and recommendations, fostering a community of tastemakers rather than relying solely on automated algorithms.

Beyond traditional retail, The Hyundai Hi is blurring the lines between commerce and entertainment by investing in original content, such as the fashion stylist competition "Kill It" on the TVN network. The platform also integrates the retailer’s food and home goods divisions and features a proprietary AI shopping assistant named "Heydi." According to Youngshin Jang, platform strategy leader at The Hyundai, the goal is to translate the inspiration and cultural connection of the physical department store into a digital environment, allowing customers to explore their personal tastes through curated brands and influential voices.