"Rising Exchange Rates Ahead of Summer Vacation... Duty-Free Shops Compete for Customers"

Joint Marketing with Travel and Financial Investment Industries
Offering Japanese Group Travel Package Prizes
Competition to Attract Domestic and Foreign Customers Ahead of Summer Peak Season in the Endemic Era

Models are promoting Shinsegae Duty Free's 'Sseukkangseu'.

The duty-free industry has launched a customer attraction competition ahead of the peak summer vacation season in the endemic (periodic infectious disease outbreak) era. Despite the still high exchange rates, they have implemented aggressive discount and reward point campaigns to offset this, and have also offered overseas travel packages through first-come, first-served and prize events.

Lotte Duty Free has signed a strategic business agreement with the global travel and leisure e-commerce platform KLOOK to strengthen marketing activities targeting customers of both companies. KLOOK, which started in Hong Kong in 2014, is an integrated travel platform where users can book local activities, admission tickets, and transportation in over 1,000 cities, offering approximately 490,000 local travel products. Based on this agreement, KLOOK will provide discount coupons usable when Lotte Duty Free members book hotels, rental cars, and activities at overseas travel destinations, while Lotte Duty Free will offer up to KRW 250,000 worth of LDF PAY, which can be used like cash at Lotte Duty Free, to KLOOK members.

To commemorate the allowance of group tours to Japan, a group travel package for a 2-night, 3-day trip to Tokyo or Osaka, representative tourist destinations in Japan, is also being offered. An event is being held until the 25th of this month for 20 domestic customers who spend over USD 5,000 in a single day at Lotte Duty Free’s Myeongdong Main Store, World Tower Store, or COEX Store, covering airfare, hotel, meals, group visa agency fees, and travel insurance. Customers can choose their preferred destination between Tokyo and Osaka and may bring one companion. During the event period, customers who spend over USD 500 at Seoul city stores will receive a raffle ticket for the travel package.

Shilla Duty Free is conducting a large-scale prize event in collaboration with Mirae Asset Securities. Customers who pay with Mirae Asset Pay at Shilla Duty Free’s offline stores?Seoul Store, Incheon Airport Store, Jeju Store, Jeju Airport Store, and Gimpo Airport Store?are eligible for a prize draw offering up to KRW 5 million travel vouchers and a Samsung Bespoke refrigerator. The event runs for two months until August 31.

The raffle prizes include a KRW 5 million Modetour travel voucher (1 winner), a Samsung Bespoke refrigerator (1 winner), a Samsung Freestyle beam projector (1 winner), and 100,000 Shilla Duty Free S Rewards points (10 winners). Entry is automatic upon purchasing duty-free products. Winners can check their results on the Mirae Asset Pay app on September 16.

Simultaneously, Shilla Duty Free is running a campaign awarding S Rewards points, which can be used like cash, based on purchase amounts. At the Seoul, Jeju, and Incheon Airport stores, customers who pay with Mirae Asset Pay and whose total purchase amount on the same day reaches certain thresholds will receive 10% of that amount back as S Rewards points usable offline at Shilla Duty Free. Customers spending over USD 150 will receive 15,000 points (equivalent to USD 15), over USD 300 will get 30,000 points, over USD 500 will get 50,000 points, over USD 1,000 will get 100,000 points, and over USD 2,000 will get 200,000 points as offline-exclusive S Rewards points.

Shinsegae Duty Free is participating in a large-scale promotion called 'SSG-cance' alongside Shinsegae Department Store, SI Village, Shinsegae Simon Premium Outlets, Shinsegae Live Shopping, SSG.com, Gmarket, Auction, and other Shinsegae Group affiliates. From the 11th to the 24th, a 14-day period, customers planning travel will receive shopping benefits. A joint event offers a KRW 10,000 cashback when customers make combined payments of KRW 200,000 or more with a Hana Card at two or more participating companies. Each company also provides SSG-cance exclusive coupons and product-related benefits for vacation essentials such as water play, travel fashion, accommodation, travel products, and sun care.

Shinsegae Duty Free offers discount coupons worth up to KRW 2 million usable both online and offline. Online, customers can receive up to KRW 350,000 in partner cashbacks based on purchase amounts, and offline, up to KRW 1.65 million in instantly usable Sum Money (event currency) based on purchase amounts. During the SSG-cance period, customers can enter a prize draw just by logging in, with prizes including round-trip first-class tickets to Los Angeles on Korean Air and Starbucks gifticons. From the 11th to the 17th, a week-long daily special relay promotion will be held, offering up to 60% discounts on items popular with domestic customers. Additional rewards based on purchase amounts will be given throughout the entire 14-day SSG-cance period.

Hyundai Department Store Duty Free has signed a 'K-Culture Content Partnership Agreement' with Kakao Entertainment to promote K-pop concerts and Hallyu culture. They will use the large digital signage at Hyundai Department Store Duty Free Trade Center Store to broadcast K-pop artist performance videos and music video content produced by Kakao Entertainment’s music content division until the end of this year. Hyundai Department Store Duty Free and Kakao Entertainment plan to additionally release domestic and international travel-related content featuring K-pop artists in the second half of the year.

The content broadcast on Hyundai Department Store Duty Free’s digital signage can be viewed anytime on the official YouTube channel 'Noraeneun Deutgo Dani-nya' operated by Kakao Entertainment’s music content division. A Hyundai Department Store Duty Free official said, "Through this content partnership with Kakao Entertainment, we can provide vibrant K-culture content via large digital signage to both domestic and foreign customers visiting the Gangnam MICE tourism special zone area, including Samseong-dong. As the floating foreign population increases due to business trips and exhibitions, we aim to make the area around Hyundai Department Store Duty Free Trade Center Store a 'Hallyu tourist attraction' and attract more visitors to Hyundai Department Store Duty Free."

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