Emart24 to Introduce Wine 'O2O' Service at 3,000 Stores Nationwide by the End of This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Emart24 announced on the 16th that it will expand its wine O2O (online-to-offline) service stores nationwide to 3,000 locations by the end of this year. As of November, there are about 2,900 Emart24 stores offering the wine O2O service located in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong, and Jeonbuk Jeonju.

The wine O2O service allows customers to reserve wine by accessing the mobile app WinePoint and then pick it up at the Emart24 store they designate. Through the WinePoint mobile app, customers can choose from about 90 varieties of mid- to high-priced wines from famous wine-producing regions around the world, which are difficult to find at convenience stores. Each customer can reserve up to two bottles of wine.

Emart24 boasts the fastest delivery time among convenience store chains offering the wine O2O service. On weekdays, customers can receive wines ordered by 1 a.m. not only in the metropolitan area but also in provincial regions by the afternoon of the same day or the next morning.

Encouraged by customer response to wine, Emart24 decided to expand the wine O2O service area. An analysis of the number of wine O2O service uses from January to October this year showed a remarkable 430% increase compared to the same period last year. Wine sales this year grew by 186% compared to the same period last year (January to October), and specialized liquor stores exceeded 2,400 locations as of the end of October.

Son Areum, Emart24’s liquor buyer, said, “We partnered with WinePoint, a wine curation specialist, in January last year to launch the first wine O2O service in the convenience store industry, and in January this year, we expanded the service area to Gangwon region. We plan to sequentially expand the number of stores offering the wine O2O service with the goal of introducing it to all Emart24 stores in the future.”

Meanwhile, when the wine reserved on WinePoint arrives at the customer’s designated store, a notification is sent to the customer via the mobile app. Customers can visit the store and pay by presenting the WinePoint order barcode and ID (to verify age). If the wine is not picked up within four days from the day it arrives at the store, the order is automatically canceled.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.