[Edaily Reporter Kim Ji-woo ] “Will you give me a name?”

A new resident has recently appeared on CJ CheilJedang Corp.’s online store, “CJ The Market.” It’s a mascot living in “The Market Village,” a place said to bring together all the diverse flavors of the world. It doesn’t have a name yet. Instead of naming it themselves, CJ CheilJedang Corp. has entrusted the task to its customers.

Why would an online grocery store create a character and ask consumers to name it? CJ CheilJedang Corp. envisions transforming CJ The Market from a simple grocery shopping site into a “food culture experience platform” where customers spend more time.

According to industry sources on the 11th, CJ Corp.’s cumulative membership stood at 4,876,000 as of the end of September, a 15.6% increase from the same period last year. The number of monthly active users (MAU) on its mobile app surpassed 1 million for the first time in May and rose to 1.1 million in September, setting a new all-time high.

CJ CheilJedang Corp. is currently focusing its efforts on a shopping experience that allows customers to “discover products without having to search for them.” “Lime,” a health and wellness (H&W) specialty section launched last November, differs from traditional online shopping malls where customers browse by category. It curates magazines, recipes, and reviews around food-related themes such as “Delicious Even When You’re in a Hurry” and “An Autumn Feast to Awaken Your Appetite.” Just four weeks after its launch, “Lime” recorded a 23% repeat visit rate, and its content currently averages over 27,000 views per post.

It is also expanding its content offerings. The platform operates “Yami Time,” a magazine covering food culture and new product stories; “Yami Play,” a short-form series introducing products through memes and daily vlogs; and “Nyam Nyam Live,” a real-time shopping broadcast. The average number of views for “Yami Time” and “Yami Play” content is approximately 18,000 and 12,000, respectively. “Nyam Nyam Live” averages over 600,000 viewers.

CJ Corp. does not limit customers to being mere content consumers. On the food community “the Lounge,” customers can post their own meal plans and recipes and exchange comments. The company also runs a “New Product Experience Group,” where participants receive new products in advance and leave reviews, allowing customer experiences to be repurposed into product recommendations and content.

The experience that began online has expanded to the offline world as well. Last July, CJ Corp. held cooking classes featuring CJ The Market products. A program teaching how to make “Sweet Corn and Eggplant Pot Rice” and “Tomato and Plum Syrup Pickles” attracted 123 times more applicants than the available spots.

The membership program has also changed. Last April, CJ CheilJedang Corp suspended new sign-ups and automatic renewals for its paid subscription-based membership, “thePrime,” and introduced “The Market Members,” a program where membership tiers rise based on purchase amount. In addition to discounts and reward points, the program offers experiential benefits such as coupons from CJ Corp., health kits, and entry tickets to cooking classes. This shift signifies a focus on increasing the loyalty of customers who make significant purchases rather than simply increasing the number of paying members.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also being utilized as a means to retain customers over the long term. The conversational search service “Fai” recommends products tailored to a customer’s situation when they enter phrases such as “breakfast ideas for kids” or “protein-rich snacks after a workout.” With last month’s comprehensive app redesign, the company also enhanced personalized recommendations based on purchase history and behavioral data.

However, some benefits have been streamlined. CJ Corp. extended the validity period of reward points from 90 days to 180 days but no longer allows them to be used toward shipping fees. The use of reward points toward product payments is also limited to a maximum of 50% of the total purchase amount.

A CJ CheilJedang Corp. spokesperson stated, “CJ The Market is making various efforts to evolve beyond a simple shopping channel into a lifestyle platform that awakens consumers’ tastes and preferences,” adding, “By organically connecting products, benefits, and content, we will advance toward a platform that goes beyond shopping—one where customers can naturally linger, experience, and enjoy.”