South Korea’s online duty-free price comparison service, Duty Free Price Research (DFPR), has announced a new partnership with leading travel retailers Shilla I’Park Duty Free and Busan Duty Free to launch an online sales platform for passengers departing from Incheon Airport.
The platform, known as DFP, initially provided a price comparison tool for duty-free products available at the online stores of South Korea’s top travel retailers. Customers can now access real-time pricing information without the need for membership IDs or passwords, enhancing user convenience.
DFP’s new sales platform introduces advanced features to improve customer accessibility and provide informed shopping options. According to DFP CEO Lee Chang-Won, this move marks a shift towards directly boosting duty-free store revenues in South Korea. He stated, “We are thrilled to launch this new phase of online duty-free promotion for Incheon Airport passengers, offering discounts of up to 40% on popular liquor items.”
The platform’s expansion comes as South Korea implements a visa-free travel policy for Chinese nationals from October 8 through the end of the year. This policy aims to stimulate duty-free demand from Chinese travelers, following a decline in Chinese customer spending.
DFP also looks to capitalize on the recovery of passenger traffic at Incheon Airport, which has returned to pre-pandemic levels. The airport recorded a remarkable 18 million passengers in the third quarter of 2024, marking its highest quarterly volume ever. Incheon is set to further enhance its capacity with the completion of Phase 4 of its construction project, expected by year-end. This will increase the airport’s annual international passenger capacity from 77 million to 106 million, solidifying its position as the world’s third-largest aviation hub, behind Hong Kong and Dubai.
In addition to these developments, DFPR revealed a significant growth in duty-free retail sales nationwide, rising from KRW 1.1 trillion (US$799 million) in October 2023 to KRW 1.4 trillion (US$1 billion) in September 2024. The data also showed a shift in customer demographics, with foreign shoppers accounting for 60% of sales in October 2023. By September 2024, however, this figure balanced out to 50% domestic and 50% international shoppers, reflecting the success of targeted marketing efforts within South Korea.
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