SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has signed a business agreement with Taiwan’s EasyCard as it aims to attract more travellers from the territory.
Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Ju-nam and Taiwan EasyCard Chairman Lin Chih-ying attended the signing ceremony held on 23 October at the Lotte Duty Free flagship store in Seoul.
EasyCard specialises in contactless digital payment solutions and accounts for the largest market share in transportation payment systems in Taiwan.
As travel demand from South Korea and Taiwan increases, the marketing collaboration is designed to best serve duty free shoppers from both markets.
Under the agreement, EasyCard users will be entitled to an array of benefits at Lotte Duty Free stores. This includes a 5-15% basic discount corresponding to Lotte Duty Free Membership VIP Gold level benefits and KRW10,000 (US$7) in LDF Pay, which can be used for purchases of at least US$1.
All EasyCard members who visit Lotte Duty Free downtown stores will receive a mask pack and a discount of up to US$50 depending on the purchase value.
The travel retailer is planning to expand EasyCard partnership benefits in Lotte Duty Free stores in Japan, Singapore and Australia.
EasyCard will, meanwhile, support joint marketing initiatives by promoting Lotte Duty Free shopping to Taiwanese card users.
Lotte Duty Free highlighted the importance of Taiwanese duty free customers. Citing data from the Korea Tourism Organisation, the company said Taiwan is the third-largest tourism source market for South Korea in August, after Japan and China. Tourist arrivals from Taiwan saw the fastest growth, up +22% year-on-year.
Taiwanese tourists also were third in terms of the number of foreign consumers at Lotte Duty Free stores in September after China and Japan.
The travel retailer said it is strengthening its partnerships with other companies to bring more convenience to customers to attract individual tourists amid the changes in travel trends.
In a bid to attract more international customers, Lotte Duty Free revealed its plans to collaborate with HSBC, Cathay Pacific, and Thailand’s largest real estate developer Central Pattana.
The travel retailer was the first in the Korean duty free industry to have introduced a mobile interpretation service for foreign customers who need translation. Seven languages, including English, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malay and Arabic are being piloted for a month at Lotte Duty Free’s Myeong-dong flagship.
With more South Koreans travelling to Japan, Lotte Duty Free has also partnered with SK Telecom to expand membership benefits to customers shopping at Lotte Duty Free Tokyo Ginza branch.
Last month, the travel retailer rolled out VIP benefits of up to 10% discount and a 500 yen (US$3) voucher for SK Telecom’s T-Membership customers.
Lotte Duty Free provided travellers with a lounge luggage storage service.
They can also buy limited-edition Yamazaki and Hakushu whiskeys at Lotte Duty Free Ginza store.
In addition, Lotte Duty Free teamed up with KakaoBank on a 26-week instalment savings programme for its customers.
In partnership with Hyundai Card, Lotte Duty Free is giving card users discounts of up to US$416, depending on the purchase amount, during October.
Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Ju-Nam said: “As part of Lotte Duty Free’s customer diversification strategy, we have decided to pursue this business agreement to attract Taiwanese tourists, who are emerging as a large force, to Lotte Duty Free at home and abroad.
“Travel trends and consumption patterns have changed since the coronavirus. We will expand our affiliate channels and strengthen customer benefits accordingly.” ✈
