The Shilla Duty Free (Shilla) has almost doubled its Chinese WeChat membership base since becoming the first Korean duty free operator to adopt direct WeChat pay capabilities within its official WeChat account.

Since introducing the new service in June, shoppers have been able to make direct payments on Shilla’s official WeChat account. As a result, visitors to the retailer’s online Chinese shopping site have more than trebled. In addition, the amount of payments by Chinese customers through the WeChat official account is 3.5-times higher.

Shilla has also expanded its WeChat pay partnership to attract new Chinese customers by adding additional membership services which are accessible within WeChat.

EXTRA SAVINGS

Rewards and benefits include extra savings on payments via the retailers’s official WeChat Pay Official Account, silver membership offering discounts of up to 10%, gift-cards redeemable at Shilla’s Incheon Airport store and prepaid cards based on purchase amounts. Benefits and rewards will be displayed for one year at the top of the Korean page on the WeChat Pay Overseas Gift Pack.

WeChat users can now activate their Shilla membership through the retailer’s WeChat official account. The ‘Card Wallet’ in the WeChat app then creates a membership card so Shilla can offer customised benefits for WeChat users.

The new service platform aggregates all country-specific benefits that are provided by WeChat Pay and its affiliates for customers travelling overseas.

Shilla has operated its WeChat Official Business Account since 2016. It has maintained a strategic partnership with WeChat Pay, offering various promotional programmes and services to reach Chinese customers.

A Shilla spokesperson said: “Partnering with large businesses like WeChat Pay is of great help for us to attract new customers. We will continue our efforts to attract Chinese customers by building and strengthening partnerships with Chinese businesses from many different categories.”