Lotte Department Store Main Branch's "Tourists Membership Card" Surpasses 25,000 Issuances in Two Months

Lotte Department Store's main branch announced on February 2 that its exclusive "Lotte Tourists Membership Card" for foreign customers, launched in December last year, has surpassed 25,000 issuances in just about two months since its release.

The "Lotte Tourists Membership Card" combines shopping benefits at Lotte affiliates with a transportation card function. It offers a 5% discount at the Lotte Department Store main branch, a 10% discount at Lotte Duty Free and 7-Eleven, and a 7% discount at Lotte Mart. In addition, customers can accumulate and use L.Points, making it more convenient for foreign customers to use various Lotte affiliates. The card's stylish design, featuring mother-of-pearl depictions of landmarks such as Lotte World Tower, Namsan, and Gyeongbokgung Palace, has gained popularity as a "K-Goods" item, especially on global social media platforms like China's Xiaohongshu.

Lotte Department Store Main Branch Lotte Tourists Membership Card Image. Lotte Department Store

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Last year, the main branch of Lotte Department Store recorded a 40% increase in sales from foreign customers. Over the past three years, sales to foreign customers have grown at an average annual rate of 35%, and as of last year, the share of foreign customer sales expanded to about 25% of total sales. This is an exceptional figure even among large stores with annual sales exceeding 2 trillion won.

The nationalities of foreign customers are also showing clear diversification. The proportion of customers from the United States and Europe, which was around 7% in 2020, doubled to 14% last year. During the same period, the share of customers from Southeast Asia also expanded from 5.5% to 15%, indicating that the main branch is attracting tourists from a wide range of countries.

Lotte Department Store plans to continue expanding affiliate benefits centered on the L.Point-based exclusive "Lotte Membership Card" for foreign customers. At the same time, it will further refine its marketing for foreign customers through collaborations with the beauty industry in the Myeong-dong area.

Furthermore, the main branch is focusing its strategy on strengthening "ongoing benefits" rather than one-time events. It is running a constant promotion offering Lotte gift certificates to foreign customers and has installed about 400 "instant tax refund machines" throughout the store, enabling a one-stop shopping environment where customers can receive tax refunds immediately after payment at the store.

Kang Woojin, General Manager of Lotte Department Store's main branch, said, "The main branch has established itself as the representative department store of the Myeong-dong business district, Korea's largest tourism special zone, and as a must-visit shopping destination for foreign tourists. We will continue to enhance customer convenience and benefits so that visitors can experience K-content not only through shopping but also in culture and tourism, further solidifying our status as Korea's largest integrated shopping town."

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