Kakao Partners with GS Retail to Expand Alcohol Sales

Kakao's Commerce CIC announced on the 11th that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with GS Retail for an online-offline linked service. The strategy is to introduce a service connecting Kakao's online commerce platform with GS Retail's offline stores to enhance users' shopping convenience.

The two companies plan to launch a service linking KakaoTalk Gift (hereafter Gift) and GS Retail's 'Wine25Plus' in the first half of next year. Wine25Plus is an alcoholic beverage smart order service that allows customers to purchase liquor through GS Retail's mobile app 'Our Neighborhood GS' and pick it up at over 17,000 GS25 and GS THE FRESH stores nationwide.

Gift users will be able to conveniently purchase and gift over 5,000 types of alcoholic beverages such as wine, whiskey, cocktails, and traditional liquor through the linked service, and pick them up at their desired store on their preferred date. This is expected to increase product variety and purchasing convenience.

Additionally, by combining Gift's situational product recommendation expertise with Wine25Plus's liquor purchase data, customized liquor recommendations will be provided to users. With the rise of home drinking and solo drinking trends, and the growing preference for differentiated alcoholic beverages, as well as the spreading culture of gifting special liquors on holidays and anniversaries, personalized curation based on taste and situation is expected to become possible.

The two companies plan to expand the online-offline linked service to various product categories starting with alcoholic beverages, and continue multifaceted collaboration to diversify users' purchasing experiences, including developing exclusive products for both companies.

Oh Jin-seok, Head of GS Retail Platform BU (Vice President), stated, "As the importance of combining online and offline continues to emerge in the domestic distribution market, we will further enhance service competitiveness through the partnership with Kakao."

Lee Hyo-jin, Co-CEO of Kakao Commerce CIC, said, "The partnership with GS Retail is significant in that it extends the convenient purchase and gifting experience of KakaoTalk Gift users to offline as well," adding, "We will strengthen collaboration between the two companies to provide users with a more convenient and diverse shopping experience."