SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has signed a strategic business agreement with Joy of Moving, an integrated transportation and shopping card issuer in a move designed to drive spending from foreign travellers through the use of a special shopping card.
Joy of Moving is the largest domestic provider of prepaid cards for transportation and shopping. It is the issuer of the EZL card, used by South Koreans for local travel and retail purchases.
Cards with three different designs have been introduced by Joy of Moving for Lotte Duty Free and are currently being sold at the retailer’s Myeong-dong store and through the online reservation platform Klook. Plans are in place to expand sales to other online travel agencies and convenience stores later this month.
Foreign customers using the cards receive KRW10,000 (US$7) in PRE-LDF PAY, which can be used like cash when making purchases from Lotte Duty Free of US$1 or more.
In addition, a discount coupon of up to US$50 on purchases and two VIP lounge passes at the Lotte Duty Free Myeongdong store are provided.
The card – which can carry up to KRW500,000 (US$361) pre-paid – can be used for payment not only in transportation but also with merchants nationwide, including duty-free stores.
Lotte Duty Free said the main target customers are tourists from Japan, Mainland China and Taiwan. “We plan to produce promotional materials in those languages to guide usage and customer benefits, and promote them in conjunction with major online tourism platforms at home and abroad,” the company noted.
The retailer said it expects revenues from foreign tourists to increase further, after witnessing a +38% year-on-year in revenues from offshore customers in Q1. In line with this trend, Lotte Duty Free said it will continue to strengthen various partnership benefits for individual tourists and carry out a range of activities to increase customer convenience.
Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Ju Nam said: “This business agreement was planned to improve the convenience and satisfaction of individual foreign customers’ domestic tourism. Lotte Duty Free will continue to provide customised customer benefits in line with changing travel trends and consumption patterns.” ✈
