"Shop for Mobile Phones Contact-Free" KT, 1-Minute Order & 1-Hour Delivery

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] KT is launching a ‘1-Minute Order and 1-Hour Delivery’ service on its official online mall, KT Shop. As the name suggests, this service allows customers to quickly order a mobile phone and receive it within approximately one hour. KT announced that, in response to the increasing number of customers wanting to purchase mobile devices non-face-to-face after the COVID-19 pandemic, it has prepared a service that enables convenient and fast phone purchases without visiting a store.

The ‘1-Minute Order’ service, starting on the 1st, is based on identity verification. When customers verify their identity via mobile phone on KT Shop, they can check the phone price based on their current plan. When selecting the desired phone, the greater benefit between the contract discount and the official subsidy is automatically applied as the default. The monthly payment amount is displayed by automatically applying the most frequently used payment method and any available device change points and Simple reward points. Customers do not need to worry about purchasing a new SIM card either. Whether a new SIM card is required or the existing one can continue to be used is automatically set based on the current phone. The ‘1-Minute Order’ service is available for existing KT mobile customers when changing devices, with plans to expand the service to more users in the future.

The ‘1-Hour Delivery’ service prepares and delivers the device from the nearest agency based on the location where the customer wants to receive the delivery after ordering a phone on KT Shop. The agency accepts the customer’s order, prepares the phone, and then calls a delivery driver. Delivery is handled by Mesh Korea, which operates the premium real-time delivery service ‘VROONG’. Because the device is prepared and delivered from a nearby agency, the waiting time for customers is significantly reduced. There is no need to wait one to two days as with regular parcel delivery. The ‘1-Hour Delivery’ service is also meaningful as it is a collaboration between KT, logistics startup Mesh Korea, and small business agencies. Agencies registered on KT’s official online mall KT Shop can receive orders from nearby customers without any cost burden and quickly deliver through Mesh Korea’s VROONG riders. The 1-hour delivery service will first be available in the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon) and is planned to expand nationwide by the end of 2020.

Ko Chong-rim, Executive Director of KT’s Strategic Channel Support Headquarters, said, “We prepared the 1-Minute Order and 1-Hour Delivery services anticipating an increase in customers preferring non-face-to-face options after COVID-19, allowing convenient and fast phone purchases without visiting stores. We will continue to actively resolve customer inconveniences and create KT’s unique online channel that provides the best convenience.”