- Combining the two most essential needs of tourists: travel information and shopping information
- Through a service that delivers Korean goods to accommodations, the platform aims to expand tourist engagement in special online campaigns
GS Home Shopping (www.gsshop.com)'s O2O platform "HanHayou (www.hanhayou.com)", launched on Thursday, September 10, officially begins this new venture catered to tourists.
HanHayou is an app designed for tourists visiting Korea, providing the two most sought-after services: "travel information" and "shopping information", and organically integrating both online and offline services. The name combines the Korean character “韩” (Han), the word “游” (You) meaning travel, along with the onomatopoeic sound “哈” (Ha) from expressions like “Ah ha!” or “Haha!", symbolizing “a joyful and surprising trip to Korea.”
As Korea’s top-ranked home shopping network, GS Home Shopping has leveraged its extensive experience and expertise to carefully craft HanHayou as a “tailor-made travel guidebook for visitors to Korea”. The platform is planned to serve as a gateway to bring special tourists, who have traditionally focused on offline large retail stores, into the world of online shopping.
The travel trends of tourists visiting Korea have shifted from group shopping-focused tours to individual experience-centered trips. HanHayou capitalizes on this shift by focusing on mobile devices, which have the highest connectivity with travelers.
First, the platform allows tourists to conveniently purchase popular Korean products and bestsellers from GS Home Shopping via a mobile app, with direct delivery to their accommodations. Tourists often buy a large quantity of cosmetics, health foods, as well as gifts such as bags, sunglasses, groceries, and small appliances. Through HanHayou, these items can be delivered to over 400 locations including hotels and guesthouses. Typically, items are delivered the day after purchase, though specific delivery dates can also be chosen. This allows tourists to avoid waiting in lines to shop and eliminates the hassle of carrying heavy items during sightseeing.
Additionally, providing convenient and enjoyable travel content is another highlight. Before the trip, users can refer to the diverse travel information available on the HanHayou website, such as maps, subway routes, popular attractions, sightseeing spots, restaurants, and performances, allowing them to plan their own itineraries. They can even more easily select preferred travel dates and interests, with personalized travel schedules automatically generated. Upon arrival in Korea, travelers can simply access their pre-set “My Personalized Travel Schedule” before starting their journey.
To offer tourists more reliable and firsthand travel content, a “HanHayou Reporters Team” composed of Chinese students studying in Korea was formed. Although there is no shortage of information about Korea in city centers, the abundance of advertisements and repetitive content can overwhelm tourists. Therefore, the reporters team provides recommendations from a tourist’s perspective—personally experiencing and suggesting popular attractions, lesser-known sights, and restaurant options—and plans to continuously update the content to make HanHayou a uniquely distinctive travel guide.
HanHayou also offers the ability to save maps in Chinese. While commonly used apps like Google Maps require internet access and data usage, HanHayou allows maps to be downloaded in areas with Wi-Fi. Once downloaded, the maps can be used unlimitedly without an internet connection. It also includes a navigation function that lets users search for locations on the map and find nearby attractions. Based on the tourist’s travel route, HanHayou also provides downloadable coupons for nearby malls or restaurants.
On the other hand, to ensure the success of HanHayou in the market, GS Home Shopping has signed strategic partnership agreements with representative companies in various fields. Plans are in place to establish close collaborations with Ctrip (www.ctrip.com), China’s leading online travel marketplace with 250 million members, global map service provider DABBEO (www.dabeeo.com), and MplusAsia (www.mplusasia.com), a company specializing in Chinese marketing, among others. The platform also aims to work with domestic brands favored by Chinese tourists and is expected to launch exclusive innovative products for HanHayou.
Kim Joon-sik, Head of the New Business Division at GS Home Shopping, stated: “As tourist numbers, which had sharply declined due to MERS, are now showing a continuous upward trend, HanHayou is planning various marketing and promotional activities to coincide with China's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays.” He also mentioned: “Through HanHayou, which connects with tourists via smartphones, we aim to expand the sales of Korean goods and usher in a borderless shopping era.”