If you can earn 200 million won a month on Coupang, who would be crazy enough to rent an expensive commercial space?

Walking down the streets lately, I see an unusual number of vacant commercial spaces.
You can easily find "for lease" signs not only in new towns but also in long-established commercial districts.
People often assume this is due to the economic recession or high rents,
but I believe there is another issue at play.
We have entered an era where physical storefronts are no longer a necessity to sell goods.
In the past, even if you were selling simple household items, you had to secure a shop in an area with high foot traffic.
You had to prepare security deposits and premium fees (key money), handle interior design, and manage expensive monthly rent.
But what about now?
If you sell products on Coupang, there is no reason to rent an expensive first-floor storefront. You can conduct business nationwide from a cheap warehouse on the outskirts.
Furthermore, by using Coupang's logistics services, the need to operate your own warehouse even decreases.
Of course, platform fees, advertising costs, and shipping fees will occur, but at the very least, you are relieved from the burden of having to occupy an expensive commercial space.
I am told that the provincial warehouse where our company is located actually has many more businesses moving in now than in the past.
The rent is incredibly cheap.
I believe this represents a massive shift in the commercial real estate market.
There is an interesting real-world case.
A company called "16P" that sells office chairs.
According to a success story released by Coupang, they recorded monthly sales of over 200 million won without having a separate physical store.
They use Coupang's Rocket Growth service to handle product storage and delivery.
When you think about it, it is quite fascinating.
In the past, what would it have taken to generate 200 million won in monthly sales selling office chairs? You would have needed a store where customers could sit in the chairs, space to display products, and a warehouse to stock inventory.
Yet now, a company has emerged that generates that level of revenue without a store or even a separate office.
In fact, domestic online shopping transaction volume in 2025 is expected to reach approximately 272 trillion won.
While the online sales of major retailers recorded double-digit growth, offline sales have essentially remained stagnant.
It is not that consumption has disappeared; rather, the way people consume has changed.
An even bigger problem is that even when existing shops close down, new entrepreneurs may not fill those spaces.
In the past, if a neighborhood stationery store closed, another retail shop might move in.
But now, someone looking to start the same business might consider an online startup first.
A structure is being created where existing stores disappear, but new stores are not being created.
Yet, how many commercial buildings have we built during this time?
Whenever a new town is developed, commercial facilities are inevitably constructed, and commercial spaces are supplied in mixed-use residential-commercial complexes and knowledge industry centers.
While consumption patterns are changing rapidly, the supply of commercial space seems unable to break away from past standards.
Of course, not all commercial spaces are struggling. Businesses that require physical visits, such as restaurants, hair salons, or hospitals, still need space.
However, can these businesses fill the void left by sectors like stationery stores and household goods stores that are easily replaced by online shopping?
Moreover, unlike commercial storefronts, the space required for online distribution is logistics centers and warehouses located on the outskirts.
Even if the distribution industry grows, that growth does not translate into rental demand for urban commercial spaces.
I believe that when looking at the commercial real estate market in the future, we must distinguish between economic recession and structural change.
A commercial space that is vacant due to a bad economy can be refilled when the economy recovers.
But the story is different for commercial spaces that have become unnecessary from the start due to online distribution.
Of course, a separate investigation is needed to determine exactly how much Coupang has contributed to the vacancy of commercial spaces. Oversupply of commercial space and sluggish domestic demand are also significant factors.
Nevertheless, I don't think we should view the changes brought by online distribution simply as a decrease in sales for small business owners.
In the past, when small businesses grew, commercial real estate grew along with them. Now, even if small businesses grow, they may not need commercial spaces.
Perhaps the vacant storefronts we see today are not just a result of an economic recession, but a signal that our society may not need nearly as many commercial spaces in the future.