[Interview] KT's 'Jalnagage' Boosts Sales Dramatically... "Data Management for Small Business Owners Too"

Interview with Ryu Jin, Head of Data Business Team, KT AI/Big Data Division
Making Data Management, Once Exclusive to Large Corporations, Accessible to Small Business Owners

Ryu Jin, Head of Data Business Team, AI/Big Data Division, KT (Photo by KT)

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] KT is promoting the digital transformation (DX) of small business owners who have been hit hard by COVID-19 and the economic downturn by utilizing big data. The big data commercial district analysis service "Jalnagage," which was previously only available to large corporations, is now being distributed free of charge to small business owners, showing results such as increasing sales by 3 to 4 times in some cases.

On the 17th, Ryu Jin, head of the Data Business Team at KT AI/Big Data Business Headquarters, who met with Asia Economy, said, "The biggest difficulty for small business owners is that they rely solely on intuition to decide when and what to sell." He added, "We are expanding service provision so that small business owners can easily and affordably engage in data-driven management, which large corporations used to do by purchasing or collecting big data worth hundreds of millions of won."

As COVID-19 prolongs and prices rise daily, the difficulties faced by small business owners are increasing. Foot traffic in front of stores has decreased, and sales have taken a direct hit. KT launched the commercial district analysis service "Jalnagage" in December 2020, when COVID-19 was rapidly spreading, to contribute to society with its big data capabilities. This service provides big data commercial district analysis, which was only possible for large corporations, free of charge to small business owners.

Ryu explained, "The biggest advantage is that we use KT's data, so data updates are fast and reliability is high. We focused on developing the service so that micro-level foot traffic information can be easily utilized." He added, "Using KT's data, we supplied timely services during the COVID-19 situation, such as identifying where delivery demand is high."

Small Business Owners Manage Data Like Large Corporations... Monthly Sales Increase by 4 Times

Nearly two years after its launch, Jalnagage is showing its effectiveness. Traditional commercial district analysis relied on analog methods such as manually counting passersby and roughly estimating age and gender. These methods had low accuracy and made it difficult to grasp hourly movement or sales. Jalnagage helps business operations through big data analysis. Ryu said, "It is very helpful in establishing sales strategies targeting visitor patterns, gender and time-based inflow information, and target groups such as residents and office workers."

As of the 25th of last month, about 143,000 people were using Jalnagage, and it has been steadily gaining traction. Positive news about its contribution to actual sales has been heard from various places.

Ryu said, "A Korean BBQ restaurant in Gwangju Metropolitan City used Jalnagage data to increase monthly sales from about 10 million won to 30 to 40 million won in three months. They analyzed customers using Jalnagage data and tailored their menu accordingly, which proved effective." He added, "A small business owner in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, started a business thinking it was a university district commercial area, but data showed that families and office workers were the main customers. By changing the menu and interior accordingly, sales increased by 80%."

Successful app capture. Photo by KT

Turns Out Our Store Is a Top Delivery Spot... Number One in Local Sales

With the explosive growth of the delivery market, KT launched "Jalnagage Delivery Analysis," providing delivery demand analysis services using big data. In a situation where delivery has a decisive impact on sales, app advertising must be conducted to increase exposure, but the cost, which can reach several million won per month, is burdensome. KT helps delivery through data such as delivery counts, orderer gender, age, time, number of nearby households, and surrounding sales status, improving advertising efficiency.

A Korean buffet in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, started selling side dishes targeting nearby housewives in their 40s on weekdays based on Jalnagage data and confirmed high delivery demand in nearby factory areas, which was used for advertising. Ryu said, "Restaurants often do not know their delivery potential well. After using Jalnagage, many businesses realized they were in top delivery areas and became number one in local delivery sales."

Reviews continue, saying things like, "I was skeptical about where to plant the Baedal Minjok (Delivery Nation) flag, but with delivery commercial district analysis, more detailed strategies became possible," and "Other services require a considerable monthly payment for analysis, so I couldn't even try, but this is truly a great gift."

"Successful Startup Strategies with Jalnagage"

There are also some shortcomings. Due to the harsh working conditions and long hours typical of small business owners, many are unaware of Jalnagage or, even if they know about it, do not dare to try it.

In response, Ryu is pushing to expand the user base of the Jalnagage service as a key task. Currently, a telephone call analysis service is being prepared, which analyzes incoming calls to stores to determine which areas have many orders, how much the number of regular customers has increased, and how much new customer inflow has grown.

They plan to introduce and enhance services such as store diagnosis, which small business owners need most. The goal is to increase the survival rate of small business owners by enabling data-driven startups rather than blindly jumping in. In the long term, they are considering a new business model that provides data to corporations while maintaining free services for small business owners.

Ryu said, "Although we currently have over 140,000 subscribers, I hope more small business owners will access Jalnagage, utilize KT's data well, and create successful strategies rather than blindly rushing into startups."