Smart Payment and Pre-Order via App... Lotte Mart's 'M Coupon' Revamped

Attracting Consumers to Offline Stores
Points Accumulation and Payment at App-Only Checkout Counters
Pre-Order Service for Ready-to-Cook Food Also Available

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Lotte Mart is relaunching its discount coupon application 'M Coupon' after five years, rebranded as 'Lotte Mart GO (tentative)'.

According to the distribution industry on the 17th, Lotte Mart GO will be launched in early next month. The purpose of the renewal is 'O4O (Online for Offline)', which aims to attract consumers to offline stores. A Lotte Mart official explained, "We will provide various services to enable consumers to shop conveniently at offline stores using mobile devices," adding, "The Lotte Mart mobile team has been preparing for this for six months."

New features such as 'smart payment' and 'pre-order' will be introduced. At the end of this month, Lotte Mart will renew and open the Gangbyeon branch in Seoul and the Suwan branch in Gwangju as smart stores. Smart payment-enabled checkout counters exclusive to Lotte Mart GO will be installed at the Gangbyeon and Suwan branches. Smart payment is a service where customers visit the store, scan products with the Lotte Mart GO app, and make payments. When consumers activate this app in the mart, they can accumulate points, receive coupon discounts, and make immediate payments through the app. It functions as both a calculator and a wallet. Receipt and transaction history management are also integrated at once. This reduces the waiting time in line at the checkout counter.

There is also a pre-order service where customers can order prepared products such as fried chicken and customized salmon in advance and pick them up at the store. 'Charida, Siktak' (Set the Table), developed and produced by Lotte Mart's Food Innovation Center (FIC), and grocerant (grocery + restaurant) foods, including ready-to-cook meals in stores, can be conveniently accessed through this service. The smart payment and pre-order services will first be introduced at the Gangbyeon and Suwan branches within this month. The service is planned to be further expanded next year.

In addition, Lotte Mart introduced the 'Tenant Store Reservation' feature last month, allowing customers to book appointments at tenant stores within the store. By launching the app, entering the tenant store reservation section, clicking on tenant stores such as hospitals, hair salons, restaurants, and coffee shops, and leaving the reservation time, name, and phone number, the reservation is automatically made.

Existing services such as flyer information and discount coupons will be further strengthened. M Coupon is a coupon-only app introduced in April 2015 as an omni-channel service expansion to replace paper coupons that Lotte Mart had been sending to customers. Since March 2016, it has provided personalized coupons by analyzing customers' purchasing patterns and age groups. Currently, the number of subscribers exceeds 3 million. The app's average monthly users have increased by more than 400% compared to the early stages. To enhance content competitiveness, various services such as video and lifestyle magazine subscription services have been offered.

A Lotte Mart official said, "Through the renewal, we expect to expand the range of services provided by the app and attract more customers not only online but also offline," adding, "We will make various attempts to provide the best services that can be experienced at offline stores."

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