'Heidi Global' Unveiled for International Customers
Domestic Service Expected Within the Year
Official Launch in All Online and Offline Stores Early Next Month
On June 11, Hyundai Department Store announced that it has completed the development of "Heidi (HEYDI)," the first artificial intelligence (AI) shopping assistant in the industry.
Heidi stands for "Hyundai Personalized Lifestyle Design AI," reflecting its purpose as a unique, personalized lifestyle design assistant exclusive to Hyundai Department Store. Based on generative AI, Heidi recommends in-store brands, restaurants, and events tailored to each customer's preferences and visit purpose. The key feature is that it brings AI recommendation technology, which was primarily offered by online shopping malls, into the offline retail space.
Test operation screen of 'Heidi,' the artificial intelligence (AI) shopping assistant developed by Hyundai Department Store. [Photo by Hyundai Department Store]
Heidi will be piloted throughout June for visitors to Hyundai Outlet Dongdaemun via QR code. It will then officially launch in early July at Hyundai Department Store and Outlet locations nationwide, as well as on the Hyundai Department Store website.
The version being unveiled this time is "Heidi Global," designed for international customers. It supports a total of seven languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, and Arabic. A version for domestic customers is planned for future release.
Customers can select the store they wish to visit on the Heidi chat screen and communicate their desired shopping content in a conversational manner. For example, by entering queries such as "A store where I can buy Y2K style jeans, popular among K-pop idols these days, for around 200,000 won," or "A restaurant suitable for visiting with my mother, who is curious about spicy Korean food," Heidi will suggest suitable content and locations that meet these requirements.
Information on brand stores, restaurants, and pop-up stores at Hyundai Department Store and Outlets nationwide is linked to Heidi in real time. As a result, when customers find a store they like during the conversation, they can make reservations or join a waiting list. This also applies to pop-up stores, which have short opening periods.
The reason for launching Heidi for international customers first is that foreign tourists have limited access to shopping information. Although the number of tourists visiting Korea has steadily increased since the COVID-19 endemic, there is a lack of shopping guide services for independent travelers. According to the company, most tourists rely on social networking services (SNS) to find information on hot places and pop-up stores, making it difficult to obtain up-to-date information that fits their actual travel schedules.
Heidi Global will be available from early July on the Hyundai Department Store global website, and can also be accessed via QR codes installed at information desks and key locations within Hyundai Department Store and Outlet branches.
Hyundai Department Store plans to further enhance the service and aims to launch a version for domestic customers as early as within this year. The domestic service is expected to provide sophisticated and personalized curation by comprehensively reflecting membership information, purchase history, frequently visited stores and time slots, and real-time location data.
A Hyundai Department Store representative stated, "If the paradigm of the retail market has evolved from purpose-driven shopping?where customers simply buy what they need and leave?to 'malling'-type shopping, where they stay in one space and enjoy unexpected discoveries, we now aim to offer a new experience of personalized shopping through Heidi." The representative added, "This will serve as an opportunity to demonstrate new possibilities in retail by integrating various online and offline elements."
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