CU Wine Shop Introduces Mobile App Prepayment System

Implementation of Smart Order System, Same-Day Pickup of Orders Placed Before 8 AM by 6 PM

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Pocket CU Wine Shop (hereinafter CU Wine Shop) is introducing a new prepayment system in its mobile application (app).

With the allowance of alcohol sales via smart order this year, CU began operating the alcohol reservation service "CU Wine Shop" through its membership app Pocket CU starting in June, selling over 120 types of wine.

By introducing the prepayment system this month, CU has implemented a complete smart order system where ordering and payment can be done simultaneously on the mobile app.

Through this, customers can purchase their desired wine anytime and anywhere from CU Wine Shop even outside the store, and products ordered before 8 a.m. can be picked up from the designated store starting at 6 p.m. on the same day by presenting an ID and reservation barcode.

CU Wine Shop has expanded its sales channel to mobile, moving away from the offline method of displaying and selling an average of 20 to 30 bottles per store, offering a product lineup comparable to that of a wine specialty store, thereby broadening customer choices while increasing store sales and operational efficiency.

In fact, CU Wine Shop’s sales in November grew more than eightfold compared to the launch period, recording explosive growth in just half a year of service operation. This was due to a significant increase in customers enjoying home drinking as social distancing measures were implemented amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amid the success of CU Wine Shop, CU’s overall wine sales have shown the highest growth rate in the alcohol category compared to the previous year, with increases of 14.5% in 2017, 28.3% in 2018, 38.3% in 2019, and 60.9% this year (January to November).

Currently, CU Wine Shop operates in about 2,200 stores in Seoul and Bundang areas, with plans to gradually expand nationwide starting next year.

Until the end of this month, CU is holding a 100% prize roulette event for customers using CU Wine Shop. After payment, customers can enter the roulette event, with prizes including 1st place: Bandis Wine Cellar (10 winners), 2nd place: Electric Wine Opener (10 winners), 3rd place: Spiegelau Vino Vino Bordeaux Glass (120 winners), 4th place: CU Membership 2,000 points (300 winners), and CU Membership 300 points for other participants.

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