"From Yongsan to Myeongdong, Group Tourists Return After 2 Years"... Duty-Free Industry Grows Optimism (Comprehensive)

A group of tourists from Singapore visiting HDC Shilla Duty Free in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 19th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The duty-free industry welcomed overseas group tourists for the first time in two years. After being stagnant due to COVID-19, the industry is seeking a turnaround with the phased return to normal life (With Corona), renewing online duty-free shops, and strengthening a competitive product lineup.

According to the duty-free industry on the 23rd, following the implementation of the Korea-Singapore "Travel Bubble" (travel safe zone), group tourists from Singapore who visited Korea on the 16th consecutively visited domestic duty-free shops. On the afternoon of the 19th, they stopped by HDC Shilla Duty Free in Yongsan-gu, Seoul for duty-free shopping, and on the 22nd, they visited Lotte Duty Free in Jung-gu and enjoyed about an hour of duty-free shopping.

This group of visitors is the first foreign group tourists to visit Korean duty-free shops in about two years since COVID-19. They toured major Korean attractions such as Nami Island in Chuncheon, Haeundae in Busan, and Hahoe Village in Andong during their 7 nights and 8 days stay, and are scheduled to return to Singapore on the afternoon of the 23rd.

A Lotte Duty Free official said, "Although it is a small group, it is highly symbolic as the first foreign group customer to visit Lotte Duty Free after COVID-19," adding, "We are steadily preparing for an increase in foreign tourists. At the same time, we are paying close attention to quarantine measures so that customers can shop in a safe environment."

The duty-free industry is preparing as domestic and international travelers are expected to increase with With Corona. Lotte Duty Free fully revamped its online duty-free shop twice, in May and July. Moving away from a display format emphasizing discounted prices, it switched to a storytelling magazine format to provide customers with a differentiated digital shopping experience. They also introduced services such as augmented reality (AR) sunglasses fitting and a virtual reality (VR) flagship store virtual experience space. They launched a "personalized product recommendation service" that analyzes customer consumption patterns to provide tailored information. In September, they also revamped their homepage to showcase Lotte Duty Free's "Entertourment" marketing emphasizing K-culture all in one place.

Shilla Duty Free is running a promotion in partnership with the global travel platform 'KKday,' offering customers who purchase overseas travel products up to 1 million KRW in credits and 135,000 Shilla Rewards points usable online at Shilla Duty Free. They are also conducting a promotion that grants gold membership and points to all customers preparing for overseas travel. They are also running a points accumulation promotion targeting foreign customers. A Shilla Duty Free official said, "Since the number of travelers preparing for individual free travel has greatly increased after With Corona, we have prepared various promotions for smart shopping before travel."

Shinsegae Duty Free signed a digital marketing agreement with Asia's number one electronic payment service company. Through this agreement, Shinsegae Duty Free plans to increase brand awareness in China while providing a differentiated shopping experience by utilizing Alipay's digital marketing tools. By branding popular K-brands housed in Shinsegae Duty Free on Alipay-affiliated platforms such as Taobao, Tmall, and Fliggy, they also aim to attract new customers to Shinsegae Duty Free.

Hyundai Department Store Duty Free is also accelerating efforts to strengthen its competitive product lineup. They plan to actively attract customers through MD differentiation. Recently, they opened a store of the French niche perfume brand 'L'Artisan Parfumeur' (a high-end perfume produced in small quantities) at the Trade Center branch. Starting with this L'Artisan Parfumeur store opening, Hyundai Department Store Duty Free plans to open more than 20 imported cosmetics brand stores at its downtown duty-free shops, including the Trade Center and Dongdaemun branches, by next year.

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