[THE INVESTOR] Korean Internet giant Kakao, the operator of the immensely popular KakaoTalk mobile messenger, on July 12 launched a new hair salon booking app as part of its ongoing push for diverse online-to-offline services.

The service, called Kakao Hairshop, has partnered with some 1,500 hair salons nationwide and plans to add an additional 2,500 shops by the end of this year.

Users are required to preregister their credit and debit cards and make reservations and payments simply by typing in their passwords, the company said. 


“Kakao Hairshop will be devoted to the growth and expansion of the local beauty industry in the long term by solving various problems,” said Yim Sung-young, a Kakao official, as users can make reservations with the prepayment system.

The app will provide detailed information on hair salons including the career of each hairdresser and the prices of various services, Kakao said.

Kakao has been rolling out various services on the back of 38 million local users of the KakaoTalk mobile messenger. In May, the company rolled out a personal chauffeur app.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)