Supporting Small Business Recovery... LG Uplus Launches Customized Specialized Products

An LG Uplus model is introducing new SOHO specialized products such as 'Our Store Wireless Internet,' commercial area analysis services, and store promotion and marketing services.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] LG Uplus will launch specialized products on the 2nd to revitalize the small office/home office (SOHO) market and support the resurgence of small business owners.

The products include ▲the telecommunications industry's first wireless internet service for small businesses, ‘Urigage Wireless Internet’ ▲big data-based customized commercial district analysis information service by industry ▲five types of partnership services necessary for store operation (influencer marketing, vehicle rental, home appliance rental), among others.

LG Uplus decided to launch new SOHO products to support small business owners who have suffered difficulties for several years due to COVID-19 and to revitalize the stagnant market. In fact, small business owners who were unable to operate normally due to COVID-19 quarantine measures over the past two years suffered huge losses. According to the ‘Small Business Owner Status Survey Report’ released in 2021, the sales per small business establishment decreased by about 4.5%, from 240 million KRW in 2019 to 220 million KRW in 2020, and the average operating profit also fell by 43%, from 33 million KRW to 19 million KRW. During the same period, the number of employees decreased by 870,000, from 6.44 million to 5.57 million.

Since April, as the COVID-19 endemic atmosphere has spread, the number of SOHO startups has been gradually increasing, and dormant businesses have begun to resume operations, indicating a recovery trend in the stagnant SOHO market. Accordingly, LG Uplus plans to actively support market revitalization by launching customized products for small business owners.

‘Urigage Wireless Internet,’ launched on the 2nd, is the telecommunications industry's first wireless internet service exclusively for small business owners, allowing the use of internet, card payment terminals, and internet phones. Prior to the product launch, LG Uplus conducted a survey of 300 small business owners, revealing that 78% experienced device connection errors such as with payment terminals and POS solutions, and felt anxious about business losses due to communication failures. Additionally, more than 30% reported various issues such as inability to choose a telecom provider, the burden of wired network installation costs, and cables that damage interior aesthetics.

‘Urigage Wireless Internet’ is a product that can resolve all these customer inconveniences. Even in the event of wired network failure, businesses can continue operations such as payments and phone reservations, and the service can be used immediately at an economical price without the need for separate wired cable installation work in the store.

The ‘Urigage Wireless Internet’ pricing includes two plans: ▲‘Basic*’ offering 500MB per day (2Mbps speed after exceeding) for 22,000 KRW per month, and ▲‘Premium*’ offering 1GB per day (3Mbps speed after exceeding) for 27,500 KRW per month. Card payment terminals and internet phones can be used unlimitedly without data usage deduction.

Along with this, LG Uplus provides a commercial district analysis service free of charge to small business customers using its consumer analysis platform ‘DataPlus.’

This service provides big data-based information on surrounding commercial districts and consumers. It offers customized information considering small business needs, such as ▲summary information of specific commercial districts ▲new business establishment lists ▲average monthly sales by the same industry ▲consumer population information by gender, age, day of the week, and time.

Users can set their commercial districts of interest and compare and analyze up to two commercial districts. For the food service industry, information on delivery market strategies such as usage rates by delivery platforms and delivery interest is also provided, which is expected to be highly useful for small business owners considering expanding sales through delivery.

LG Uplus also newly launched the U+ Urigage Package app. It allows management of various communication products such as intelligent CCTV and internet phones, as well as store operation solutions including sales management, recruitment, and home appliance rental, all within a single app. The app also provides a total of 15 videos covering usage manuals and self-troubleshooting for malfunctions.

LG Uplus plans to introduce three additional new products within the year. Furthermore, to expand from the food service industry to distribution and convenience store sectors, it will collaborate with optimal partners to add store promotion and advertising solutions, as well as customer management solutions. The company aims to strengthen the competitiveness of SOHO market-tailored products and achieve a market share of 33% within five years.

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