Lotte Hi-Mart, First in Home Appliance Distribution Industry to Introduce 'Visible ARS'

Lotte Hi-Mart will introduce the 'Visible ARS' payment service at over 460 stores nationwide starting from the 18th. The photo shows the first implementation at Lotte Hi-Mart. A customer visiting the Daechi branch of Lotte Hi-Mart is using the service. Photo by Lotte Hi-Mart

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Lotte Hi-Mart will introduce the 'Visible ARS' payment service to over 460 stores nationwide starting from the 18th, becoming the first in the domestic home appliance distribution industry to do so.

The Visible ARS payment service complements the existing ARS card payment method, which was only possible via voice, by allowing customers to directly view the screen on their smartphones and make card payments.

Customers who wish to use the service need to install the Lotte Hi-Mart mobile app on their smartphones and agree to the service terms. The Visible ARS payment service utilizes the tablet PCs used by professional consultants at Lotte Hi-Mart stores during customer consultations. When a customer decides to make a purchase, the consultant calls the customer through the consultation tablet, and once the customer answers, they are connected to the Visible ARS payment screen along with a guided message. The customer then enters payment information such as card number and expiration date on the connected payment screen to complete the payment. Customers who do not agree to use the service can still make payments via voice ARS. Android smartphone users can use the service regardless of the model. The iOS version is planned to be launched in the second half of this year.

By utilizing the consultation tablet and Visible ARS payment service, customers can complete everything from consultation to purchase while seated. This minimizes product payment waiting time and consumer movement. It reduces the inconvenience of having to move back to the counter to consult with a professional consultant and make a payment in the store.

Park Kyung-seok, head of the DT Strategy Team at Lotte Hi-Mart, said, “We developed the 'Visible ARS payment' service while considering ways to make shopping more convenient for customers visiting our stores. After establishing the service and observing the response, we plan to expand the service functions to enable simple payments in the second half of this year.”

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