Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) announced on March 14 that it will launch the country’s first airport online duty-free shops at Gimpo, Gimhae, and Jeju airports in Korea, following the selection of a new duty-free shop operator for Gimpo Airport on March 6.
KAC completed the construction of a common platform for online airport duty-free shops in 2023 to reflect consumption trends of Generation MZ familiar with mobile app environments and the convenience of online shopping. It is expected to open the online duty-free shops around June when a new duty-free shop operator finishes developing a payment program.
KAC is promoting the online duty-free service to rev up airport duty-free shops which have traditionally run as offline stores and to boost the competitiveness of airport duty-free shops through the establishment of smart airport services.
While online purchases at city duty-free shops can be made up to three hours before boarding an airplane due to time to deliver ordered products to airports, customers will be able to make online purchases at airport duty-free shops up to one hour before boarding an airplane through the airports’ website.
In addition, KAC will introduce a bio-information payment service at Gimpo Airport Duty Free Shop to further enhance the convenience of duty-free customers. Bio-information payment is a service that uses palm veins to verify customers’ identities and pay for goods which is more secure than payments based on fingerprints or facial information. Palm vein reading will replace boarding passes, ID cards and payment methods required to purchase duty-free goods.
Currently, 14 airports, excluding Incheon International Airport, offer passengers fast and convenient boarding procedures through palm vein identification in Korea.
Currently, to purchase goods at airport duty-free shops, you need to present your boarding pass, ID cards, and payment methods (credit cards and others). The bio-information payment service will make a big improvement to purchase processes with automatic payment using palm veins.
In the future, KAC will gradually expand the online duty-free shop service and bio-information payment service to other regional international airports in Korea.