Lotte Dept. Store introduces AI translation service

South Korea's Lotte Department Store announced on Monday that it introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) interpretation service for foreign tourists at its Jamsil store. 

Lotte explained that the decision aimed to enhance the shopping experience for the steadily increasing number of international visitors.

Last year, sales to foreign consumers at Lotte Department Store Jamsil increased by 100% compared to 2022. Sales from Jan. to Mar. this year were more than 50% higher.

The information desk at the Jamsil branch now handles over 700 inquiries from foreign customers daily.

AI interpretation services have been operational since April 19 at the information desks on the first floor of Avenuel Jamsil and the basement floor of Lotte World Mall.

Utilizing SK Telecom's AI translation solution Transtalker, the service provides real-time interpretation in 13 languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, and German.

Foreign customers can ask questions in their native languages at an LED transparent display at the information desk, where their inquiries are immediately translated into Korean.

The staff's responses are then translated into the customers' languages and displayed on the monitor.

The introduction of the AI interpretation service has been met with positive feedback, with over a thousand foreign customers using it within the first three days of its launch.

Lotte Department Store plans to extend these AI interpretation services to other stores, particularly those with a high volume of foreign shoppers.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com