Dongwon F&B's AI Shopping Assistant Lifts Conversion 10.8x

Initially available only through an icon at the bottom right of the screen, the assistant has been reachable since October 1 from the mobile search bar, search results and specialty sections. In the first 15 days after the expansion, the number of users rose to 5.6 times the previous period, and product-recommendation queries grew from 29.5% to 51.4% of all conversations.

Dongwon Mall sells about 130,000 items, including some 3,000 Dongwon products, along with third-party groceries, fresh food, health supplements and pet food. The in-house platform development team built the service and linked it to product, cart, order and coupon functions, aiming to support the whole journey rather than act as a support chatbot.

What comes next

Dongwon F&B plans to use "My Pet" member data to recommend suitable pet products and to expand benefits for AI users, a way to differentiate from large platforms selling the same goods.

The company acknowledges a caveat: the conversion figure compares AI and non-AI sessions over the same period, not before and after launch, so shoppers' purchase intent may partly explain the gap. The challenge is turning higher AI usage into repeat visits and purchases through better recommendation accuracy and personalization. A company representative said the accumulated purchase data could also feed more tailored recommendations and product development at manufacturing affiliates.