GS Home Shopping has partnered with China’s top online travel agency “Ctrip” to launch mobile shopping services targeting visitors to Korea
- Collaboration between Korea’s No. 1 home shopping company and China’s No. 1 online business
- Mobile service offering personalized travel and shopping content for tourists to be launched next month
- Expected to expand the reach of special tourists who concentrate on offline large distribution stores through the internet
GS Home Shopping (www.gsshop.com) has joined forces with China’s largest online travel agency “Ctrip (www.ctrip.com)” to launch services targeting Chinese tourists visiting Korea.
GS Home Shopping has signed a strategic contract with Ctrip regarding the “provision of shopping services for Chinese tourists.” On the 19th of this month, it was announced that a new mobile business targeting tourists will commence in September this year.
“Ctrip” is a pioneer in China’s online travel industry, providing comprehensive travel services including flight and hotel bookings, package tours, business trip management, and travel communication services. With 250 million members, it went public on NASDAQ in 2003. Of the over 6 million tourists who visited Korea in 2014, approximately 1.5 million (25%) came via Ctrip. This year, despite the impact of the MERS outbreak, it is expected that tourist numbers will return to previous levels by the end of the year once the situation stabilizes.
The two companies plan to leverage Ctrip’s vast customer database and GS Home Shopping’s extensive data platform to provide more personalized mobile services featuring Korean travel and shopping content tailored to different types of tourists.
The mobile application, expected to launch next month, will offer: 1. Mobile shopping that delivers Korean products and popular GS Home Shopping items to hotels or accommodations during specified periods; 2. Mobile coupons for theme park tickets, restaurant discounts, etc.; 3. Travel maps showing the locations and information of tourist attractions, shopping spots, restaurants, etc.; 4. Automatic itinerary recommendations when users input their arrival and departure dates and preferences; 5. Location-based services such as nearby discount coupons.
On the other hand, this collaboration between Korea’s top home shopping company and China’s leading online travel company marks an opportunity to expand the reach of special tourists from offline to online.
GS Home Shopping has found a powerful partner capable of expanding both the number of visitors to Korea and online usage.
Ctrip aims to secure a competitive edge over its domestic rivals by offering Chinese tourists a variety of coupons, gourmet options, and high-quality shopping services tailored to their needs during their visit to Korea.
With domestic consumption stagnant for years, the number of visitors to Korea has reached 6 million this year and is expected to surpass 10 million by 2019 – a situation that can aptly be described as a “golden goose.” Moreover, the average spending per Chinese tourist amounts to $1,400 (1.5 million KRW), nearly four times the average spending of tourists from other countries.
However, until now, only a limited number of large distribution outlets such as duty-free shops and department stores have been catering to these special tourists. Therefore, GS Home Shopping plans to focus on attracting more tourists through a mobile network that connects various attractions and countless shopping streets (http://www.hanhayou.com/). As Chinese travelers’ trends shift from group tours to independent travel, it is expected that the convenience of using a mobile app to search for sightseeing and shopping information will be highly appreciated. (http://zhushou.360.cn/detail/index/soft_id/3083322?recrefer=SE_D_%E9%9F%A9%E5%93%88%E6%B8%B8#nogo)
Kim Jun-jeok, Executive Director of GS Home Shopping’s New Business Division, stated: “When GS Home Shopping entered the Chinese home shopping market, we gradually prepared for entry into China’s online market through international shipping services and our presence on platforms like Tmall. Now, by joining forces with China’s largest online travel agency, Ctrip, we aim to expand the sales of Korean products and usher in a borderless shopping era through mobile channels and new business models that closely engage with tourists.”