SOUTH KOREA/INTERNATIONAL. The Shilla Duty Free has joined forces with US beauty house The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) to launch what the travel retailer claims to be the world’s first video-based non-face to face consultation service, named LaViewON.
The Shilla Duty Free said the primary aim of LaViewON is to provide in-depth consultations tailored to each consumer, normally a distinct element of offline shopping. Via the new service, this is done in an online-based, non-face to face manner, blurring the boundaries between online and offline.
LaViewON allows consumers to receive personalised consultations from employees at The Shilla Duty Free’s Seoul-based offline store via a mobile app or on their PCs.
Provided free of charge to all Shilla Internet Duty Free members, the service is divided into the video consultation service ‘FaceON’ and chat-based consultation service ‘ChatON’.
Shilla said the main advantage of the LaViewON service is that users can find the makeup and skincare products “of their dreams” through real-time, non-face-to-face consultations with Shilla Duty Free offline store employees, who are experts in cosmetics and beauty brands. That means there is no need to personally visit multiple stores and test the products there directly.
In addition, users of the service can also receive LaViewON exclusive benefits, such as credits and special offers on beauty products recommended during the consultation, and they can also make immediate purchases during the consultation.
“The LaViewON service has been designed with a focus on enhancing the consumer experience online and providing more services and capabilities than were previously limited to the offline purchase experience” – The Shilla Duty Free E-commerce Team Leader Kim Bo-yeon
Consumers can receive their consultations via ‘KaKaoTalk’ from LaViewON, and view their consultation history from past online visits.
As such, LaViewON is a continuous service provided to The Shilla Duty Free members, not just a one-off promotional event, the travel retailer noted.
Those who wish to use the service can do so by clicking the LaViewON button on the participating brands page in the mobile app or after accessing the page via their PCs.
LaViewON will be implemented for three of ELC’s prestige brands, Estée Lauder, La Mer and M.A.C Cosmetics. Service users can receive recommendations from among a diverse set of more than 2,000 products from some 30 cosmetic consultants.
There are plans in place to expand the new online consultation service to other cosmetics and fashion brands in the future.
Currently, the service is only available in Korean, but more languages will be supported in the near future, including Chinese and English.
To mark the launch of LaViewON, the Shilla Duty Free will give away some 2,000 gifts on a first-come, first-served basis to those who have experienced LaViewON or made purchases via LaViewON.
The gifts include Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair (15ml), La Mer’s Crème de la Mer (3.5ml), and a golden brush from M.A.C Cosmetics.
The Shilla Duty Free E-commerce Team Leader Kim Bo-yeon said: “The LaViewON service has been designed with a focus on enhancing the consumer experience online and providing more services and capabilities than were previously limited to the offline purchase experience.
“Going forward, we will continue to introduce differentiated services enhancing the user experience thereby leading the online duty free shopping market.”
