The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated international travel, and duty-free stores have bore a large portion of the brunt.

Lotte Duty Free, the No. 1 player in the local market, looked beyond present troubles and embraced contactless and smart shopping as the new normal for the duty-free industry.

In an industry first, the company introduced a “smart store” that incorporates digital technologies and minimizes face-to-face contacts between shoppers and clerks. 

Located on the first floor of its flagship Myeong-dong outlet, the store is equipped with a QR code-based shopping system that enables visitors to check the price. It provides user reviews and inventory quantity of a product by scanning the barcode with a smartphone, also allowing shoppers to add the item to their mobile cart.

The store, spanning 520 square meters, is specialized for beauty brands such as Sk-II, Estee Lauder, Lancome and Shiseido.

Lotte Duty Free’s digital transformation drive has brought another groundbreaking shopping experience to customers – the Dream Free digital makeup studio.

In partnership with L‘Oreal, a French personal care company, the service allows customers to try products virtually and purchase them through mobile applications without having to visit stores.

As the Korea Customs Service has temporarily allowed the sale of goods that have been in stock for more than six months through retail channels here, Lotte Duty Free has established an online shop called Luxemall to sell such items to local customers.

For customer convenience, the company has introduced various mobile payment options such as Payco and Naver Pay. For those who are hesitant to buy luxury goods online, it has launched a premium delivery service to make sure the items are handed over to customers safely. Special security trucks and delivery professionals handle deliveries of items worth over 3 million won ($2,750), it said.

For this year-end shopping season, Luxemall has prepared over 2,000 luxury items, including Tory Burch, Valentino, Bottega Veneta and Gucci, some of them for up to 60 percent discount. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)