Busan spends 1 billion won to displace at most 515 million won of delivery commission

The 200,000 coupons ^[3] at 5,000 won each account for the full 1 billion won, so that budget line is coupon face value and nothing else ^[10]. The 15% Dongbaekjeon cashback stacks on top of it ^[6].

A 20,000 won order, the minimum for the instant discount ^[5], carries 1,560 to 1,840 won of brokerage fee at the 7.8% to 9.2% the three big platforms charge ^[11]. The coupon on that order is 5,000 won, between 2.7 and 3.2 times the fee it is meant to displace ^[12]. Add the cashback in force through the 30th and the shopper is 8,000 won better off on a 20,000 won basket, a 40% discount ^[13].

The transfer goes to the shopper. One of the two coupons goes to residents who already spend at least 100,000 won a month on Dongbaekjeon ^[4]. Busan calls Ddangyeoyo a lower-cost public app and did not publish its commission rate ^[9], so the net per-order saving to a merchant cannot be worked out.

The city's own forecast is more than about 5.6 billion won of added small-business sales ^[7], which is 28,000 won of sales for every coupon issued ^[15]. Commission of 7.8% to 9.2% on 5.6 billion won is 437 million to 515 million won ^[16]. One billion won of public money is being spent against, at the top of that range, about 515 million won of platform fees, or roughly two won for each won moved ^[18].

The stronger reading is acquisition cost. Busan is buying installed users, and if retained volume held near 5.6 billion won a year, the midpoint 476 million won of avoided commission covers the 1 billion won in about 2.1 years ^[17]. That holds only if the orders stay when the incentive shrinks. At the 10% cashback that follows budget exhaustion ^[6], a 20,000 won order still returns 2,000 won, more than the 1,560 to 1,840 won the majors would have taken ^[14].

"With the consumption vitality coupons, we will substantially lower the delivery cost burden on small business owners and add vitality to the local economy through higher sales driven by expanded use of the public delivery app," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said ^[8].

Busan is paying shoppers to route around the 7.8% to 9.2% ^[2], and the program leaves that fee schedule where it was. If orders return to the majors after Dec. 15, the 1 billion won will have bought 200,000 discounted deliveries at the same commission rates ^[1].