"You Can Use Them at Rental Shops"
Emart and Lotte Mart Provide Guidance
Hundreds of Stores Nationwide
Focusing on Everyday Service Businesses
As large discount stores have been excluded from the government's "Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon" policy, Emart and Lotte Mart are strengthening their efforts to inform customers about which stores within their premises accept the coupons, focusing mainly on their in-store rental shops.
Emart and Lotte Mart are strengthening their promotional activities to inform customers about stores where consumer coupons can be used, focusing on rental stores within their own outlets. (This photo is for illustrative purposes and is unrelated to the article content.) Yonhap News Agency
According to the retail industry on July 27, Emart announced that out of approximately 2,600 rental shops located within its 156 Emart and Traders stores nationwide, about 960 of them accept the Livelihood Consumption Coupons. This accounts for around 37% of all rental shops.
The stores where the coupons can be used are mostly everyday service businesses operated by small and medium-sized merchants, such as hair salons, opticians, pharmacies, photo studios, car washes, and kids' cafes. For example, at Emart Wolgye branch, 20 rental shops?including restaurants, cafes, hair salons, pharmacies, opticians, and shoe/key repair shops?are designated as coupon-accepting stores. At the Seosuwon branch, 15 shops including hair salons and car repair shops accept the coupons, while at Traders Yeonsan branch, the coupons can be used at eight restaurants and cafes.
To enhance customer convenience and boost sales for rental shops, Emart is placing notices inside its stores to help customers easily identify participating shops. Signs stating "Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon Accepted Here" are posted throughout the stores, and separate notices are installed at each participating rental shop to guide customers.
Lotte Mart is taking similar steps. According to the company, about 900 rental shops within its 112 stores nationwide accept the coupons, which is about 30% of its total 3,000 rental shops.
Since July 18, Lotte Mart has been placing notices along major pathways inside its stores and strengthening on-site staff guidance to help customers easily find shops where the coupons can be used.
An Emart representative stated, "Since large discount stores have been excluded from the list of places where coupons can be used, we saw a need to support the sales of small business owners operating within our stores." The representative added, "We will continue to provide indirect support through various activities that inform customers about which shops accept the coupons."
A Lotte Mart representative also commented, "Helping customers clearly recognize where they can use the coupons will benefit both customer convenience and the business stability of our partner shops." The representative continued, "We will continue to review effective support measures in line with government policy."
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