7-Day Event Starting May 22
Quality Enhanced Through Analysis of 30,000 Reviews
On May 21, Lotte Mart announced that it will hold the "Honey-Sweet Watermelon Festival" from May 22 to May 28, ahead of the summer heat.
A model promoting AI watermelons at Lotte Mart Zetaflex Seoul Station branch. Courtesy of Lotte Mart.
The main product, "Watermelon (5-9kg, domestic)," will be available at a 50% discount for customers who pay with event cards (Lotte, KB Kookmin, Shinhan, NH Nonghyup, Samsung Card) from May 22 to May 25. The "WM12 Watermelon," which boasts a high sugar content of 12 Brix, the "Black Winner Watermelon," known for its crisp texture, and the "AI-Selected Watermelon," carefully chosen by artificial intelligence, will be sold at a 7,000 won discount to L.POINT members until May 28. As an early heatwave is expected this year, Lotte Mart secured a supply of about 100,000 watermelons through advance agreements with production regions two months ago.
Lotte Mart has selected watermelon as a key item for its "Fresh Intelligence" campaign and focused on quality improvements that customers can experience firsthand. The Fresh Intelligence campaign analyzes customer review data using AI to identify the causes of purchase failures for each product and implements targeted quality improvements, aiming to achieve "fresh shopping with no failures." The AI-Selected Watermelon is a flagship product developed to address the main inconvenience of "difficulty in choosing due to not knowing the inside," based on the analysis of around 30,000 consumer reviews.
Since last year, Lotte Mart has introduced an AI-based watermelon selection system to enhance the objectivity and reliability of its quality verification process. By using a deep learning-based algorithm, the system precisely analyzes internal factors such as sugar content, ripeness, internal cracking, and flesh quality, ensuring a stable supply of high-quality watermelons. In addition, overall quality management at production sites has been strengthened. By introducing cultivation logs, Lotte Mart manages seedling types, planting times, and optimal harvest periods for each farm, and has expanded the inspection process from four stages to seven stages.
In addition to watermelons, Lotte Mart is offering seafood and meat products to help customers boost their energy during the summer at reasonable prices. For L.POINT members, "King Crab (100g, chilled, Russian)" is available at a 50% discount for 5,995 won, while "Prepared Freshwater Eel (100g, chilled, domestic)" and "Wando Live Abalone Special/Large (per piece, chilled, domestic)" are offered at 30% off. In the meat section, "U.S. Prime Ribeye (100g, chilled, U.S.)" is sold at a 20% discount, and "Harim Marinated Chicken Stew/Spicy Garlic Chicken Stew (chilled, domestic)" is available for 7,990 won, a 2,000 won discount.
Various other summer foods have also been carefully selected for refreshing enjoyment, with a range of discount promotions. All cold noodle products from popular brands, such as "CJ Dongchimi Mulnaengmyeon (2 servings)" and "Pulmuone Hamheung Bibim Naengmyeon (2 servings)," are available as buy-one-get-one-free offers with event card payment. "Nongshim Baehongdong Bibimmyun/Kalbimmyun/Jjoljjolmyun (each 4-pack)" is offered as a buy-two-get-one-free deal. Thirteen types of large-capacity sports drinks and thirty-five types of RTD coffee beverages, both highly popular in summer, are also available as buy-one-get-one-free offers, and all "Haagen-Dazs pint" products are included in a buy-two-get-one-free promotion. There is also a "World Beer Pick-and-Mix" promotion, with four cans for 9,600 won and six cans for 12,900 won, up to 35% off regular prices.
Kim Yagin, MD (Merchandiser) of the Lotte Mart & Super Fruit Team, said, "We have prepared this event to offer the highest quality watermelons at reasonable prices," adding, "We will continue to prepare a variety of products so that you can enjoy seasonal fruits without worry throughout the year."
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