[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] SOCAR(403550)will extend its partnership with Naver Plus Membership for another year. This decision stems from the company’s assessment that its “channeling” strategy—which expands customer touchpoints by linking with external platforms—is leading to actual sales growth, as revenue and user engagement from visitors coming through Naver (NAVER(035420)) have shown double-digit growth rates.

According to the IT industry on the 4th, SOCAR and Naver have extended the Naver Plus Membership benefits for SOCAR car-sharing—which were originally set to expire on the 31st of last month—by one year, through August 31, 2027.

Naver Plus Membership subscribers can receive an additional 5% discount on vehicle rental fees with no limit on the number of uses when booking SOCAR through Naver Reservation. Extended rental fees, liability waiver products, and mileage charges are excluded from the discount, and the offer does not apply to vehicles in the Jeju region.

The extension of the partnership is driven by increased usage. According to SOCAR, from January to August of this year, revenue generated through the Naver channel increased by 24% year-over-year, while usage time rose by 30%. This indicates that the partnership has gone beyond simply offering discount benefits, as users referred from Naver have actually made vehicle reservations and engaged in extended usage.

The partnership between SOCAR and Naver began in June 2024. This marks the first instance of “channeling,” in which SOCAR provided its car-sharing service outside of its own application (app). An application programming interface (API) was integrated so that when users search for “SOCAR” or “car sharing” in the Naver app or on Naver Maps, they can view nearby SOCAR zones and vehicles and handle everything—from booking and payment to vehicle use—within Naver. Identity verification and driver’s license validity checks also utilize Naver certificates.

Subsequently, starting in June of last year, the companies expanded their partnership to include the Naver Plus Membership program. This structure attracts Naver’s vast base of search and map users as potential SOCAR customers while increasing the conversion rate to actual reservations through membership discounts.

SOCAR is expanding this strategy of securing external channels beyond Naver. Last January, it partnered with Nol Universe to enable users to book SOCAR’s round-trip car-sharing service and “Call” (a service that delivers vehicles to desired locations) through the NOL app. This marks the second channeling partnership following the one with Naver.

SOCAR emphasized, “Since launching the Naver channel, we have confirmed the effectiveness of attracting new users through external channels,” adding, “SOCAR aims to create an environment where users can easily access car-sharing services whenever and wherever they need to get around.”