"If You Visit the Store, We'll Give You a Mask"... Desperate Offline Stores

Lotte Department Store recently ended early due to a surge of customers participating in the event to receive quarantine mask exchange coupons through the Lotte Department Store app. (Photo by Lotte Department Store app screenshot)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Due to the impact of COVID-19, foot traffic to offline stores has come to a halt. As a result, each store is struggling to devise survival strategies.

According to the distribution industry on the 13th, Lotte Department Store recently held a mask giveaway event. This event aimed to attract the reduced number of customers. Customers who downloaded the Lotte Department Store application and set their "My Branch" received a coupon that could be exchanged for one hand sanitizer or one mask per person, once, at the department store's promotional event venue.

Lotte Department Store Busan Main Branch held the event with a limited quantity of 2,000 masks from the 2nd to the 16th, but due to a rush of customers, the event ended early in just four days. The hand sanitizer event, limited to 1,500 units, was scheduled from the 7th to the 23rd but also ended early. Despite Lotte Department Store not actively promoting the event, word of mouth spread through online communities, leading to early termination of the event at all branches nationwide.

As masks became scarce due to COVID-19, more places across the country are encouraging customers to visit stores by offering masks. For example, some branches of Electronic Land are holding events where masks are given in limited quantities only to visiting customers. They also emphasize the operation of air purifiers, leveraging the characteristics of home appliance stores as a customer attraction strategy.

The mask giveaway strategy transcended industries. Some chicken brands gave masks to customers who visited the store and took out chicken, and even employees of mobile phone dealerships began holding white masks in their hands while soliciting customers on the streets. Other small stores are also making every effort to attract visits by promoting mask giveaway events through social networking services (SNS).

The distribution industry's mask giveaway strategy is close to a desperate measure. Due to the impact of COVID-19, most offline events originally planned were canceled or postponed, and foot traffic to offline stores decreased more than expected.

In fact, Hyundai Department Store and Shinsegae Department Store indefinitely postponed some special lectures. Several events prepared for Valentine's Day, a peak season in the distribution industry, were also postponed or canceled. Glad Hotel & Resort temporarily postponed the "Glad Music Fest: Jea × Park Jaejung" concert scheduled for the 14th with about 500 attendees.

Regarding this, a distribution industry official said, "Although the number of customers visiting offline stores has decreased due to the impact of COVID-19, it is impossible to plan events that gather large crowds. We can only try to prevent further decline in customers through small giveaway events and wait for the COVID-19 impact to subside."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.