Data Knows... You Are a "Music, Delivery, and Supplement Enthusiast"

Visited the 'T Uju' Specialty Store
AI Diagnosis Using Smartphone Data

On the afternoon of the 4th, I visited the Seoul Gangnam PS&M Baengbaeng Intersection store, a specialized store for SK Telecom's subscription service 'T Woosoo'. The photo shows a T Woosoo model displayed by the store window.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "Recommended subscription services for you are ‘Flo (music streaming)’, ‘Baedal Minjok (delivery)’, and ‘BioPublic (nutritional supplements)’."

On the 4th, at SK Telecom’s subscription service ‘T Universe’ specialized store located at Gangnam PS&M Bangbang Intersection in Seoul, I received this AI diagnosis result. It is a ‘subscription prescription’ based on usual smartphone data usage habits.

The first step of the diagnosis was the ‘Check-in’ service. When inquiring about the T Universe experience with the store’s subscription specialists called ‘Star Crew’, I was guided to a check-in service using a QR code and phone number. Consent to use personal information is mandatory. Center Director Lee explained, "Personal information is not stored separately and is only used for recommending services within the store."

After the diagnosis, customized service recommendations were made. On the store’s central 85-inch large touch table called the ‘Subscription Service Recommendation AI Table’, about 20 round icon-shaped services were floating. Besides the three recommendations (Flo, Baedal Minjok, BioPublic), other candidates included popular services among people in their 20s and 30s such as ‘Wavve (OTT)’, ‘V Coloring (visual caller ID)’, and ‘Game Pass Ultimate (Xbox Game Pass)’. Visitors could also experience ‘Creating My Own Universe Pass’ through the large screen on the wall.

Visiting the store, it seemed that the role of the Star Crew was crucial to the success of SK Telecom’s ‘subscription experiment’. This is because the store attracts a diverse range of customers, from housewives in their 50s and 60s to office workers in their 20s and 30s. Customer perspectives and preferences vary widely. Customers who want individual consultations could receive additional advice in VIP seats. Director Lee said, "For housewife customers over 50, explaining that they can get up to 30% discount when purchasing at the nearby Paris Baguette seems to help them understand better." SK Telecom plans to increase the number of Star Crew to 1,200.

From the customer’s point of view, there was also a downside in that they need to carefully check the conditions rather than just looking at the price benefits of each subscription service. For example, the 11st service included as a basic option in the ‘Universe Pass All’ is valid for three months and is only available to users of the ‘11st Shinhan Card partnership card’, and the Google One service is provided for 12 months with conditions attached.

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