"Returning Foreigners" Lotte Mart, a Must-Visit Course for Foreign Tourists

Lotte Mart Seoul Station Branch Sees Foreign Customer Sales Share Increase to 30% by August After Endemic Transition
New Specialty Stores Opened, Airport Railroad Partnership Discounts Offered

Lotte Mart is providing customized services for foreign customers, becoming an essential visit course for foreign tourists.

Foreign tourists and others are shopping at Lotte Mart Seoul Station branch.
[Photo by Lotte Mart].

With the transition to the endemic phase (periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases), the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea has increased, and the number of foreign customers visiting Lotte Mart is also gradually rising. According to Lotte Mart on the 6th, the foreign sales ratio at the Seoul Station branch, which has the highest proportion of foreign customers, decreased from 2019 before and after the spread of COVID-19, dropping to the 1% range in 2021. Since then, as the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea increased again, it recovered to about 10% in 2022 and approximately 30% cumulatively from January to August 2023. Following the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism's approval on the 10th of last month to allow group tours from 78 countries including Korea, Lotte Mart expects the number of foreign customers visiting stores to increase further.

Lotte Mart announced that it will actively attract foreign customers by providing various customized services for foreign tourists at the Seoul Station branch. The reason Lotte Mart chose the Seoul Station branch is due to its geographical characteristic of being located at the terminus of the Airport Railroad, and before COVID-19, the foreign customer sales ratio was close to 50%, making it a store visited by many foreign customers.

Lotte Mart has newly established a 20-meter-long specialized store for foreign tourists at the Seoul Station branch to provide one-stop shopping. This specialized store is composed of popular products within food categories such as snacks, coffee, and nuts, which have a high purchase frequency among foreign customers. Using the store display program 'Planogram,' which establishes display standards based on sales data, the optimal products are selected and displayed. Linked with an automatic ordering system, the inventory is maintained about three times more generously than existing stores to prevent stockouts even during bulk sales.

Lotte Mart Seoul Station branch operates various convenience facilities to enhance shopping convenience for foreign customers. The customer center provides storage services for foreigners' luggage and bags, allowing them to conveniently tour nearby areas before boarding the airport train. A dedicated organizer stand for foreign customers' luggage is installed to help organize purchased items easily, and two foreign currency exchange machines and one unmanned refund machine are operated to improve convenience for currency exchange and tax refund. Since May, the international courier service that ships purchased products directly to customers' home countries has resumed, operating three times a week (Monday, Friday, and Saturday).

Promotional events are also held for foreign customers. Customers who process tax refunds for purchases over 150,000 KRW are given a 'RE:EARTH shopping bag' to carry their purchased items. Through a hashtag event, foreign customers who post photos of Lotte Mart Seoul Station branch or purchased products and reviews on their personal social networking services (SNS) and verify them at the customer center receive gifts such as 'Yorihada' private brand (PB) ramen. A discount service is also provided in partnership with the Airport Railroad direct train. By scanning the QR code related to the direct train printed at the bottom of the purchase receipt and booking via smartphone, customers can purchase the Airport Railroad direct train ticket at a discounted price of 8,000 KRW, 1,500 KRW off the regular fare.

Additionally, Lotte Mart operates specialized stores for foreigners at eight branches located near administrative districts and major attractions frequently visited by foreign tourists (Gimpo Airport, Zetaflex Jamsil, World Tower, Jeju, Songdo, Yeongjongdo, Gwangbok, and Dongbusan branches), and has increased signage displayed in foreign languages.