(image: Hyundai Department Store)
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Department Store Group said Monday it has joined hands with Amazon to develop the “next-generation” retail model amid local retailers’ push to adopt the latest technology to their online and offline platforms.
Under the strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Service (AWS) Korea signed on Friday, Hyundai said it will also establish a system to analyze customer activity and expand the partnership between its information technology arm and AWS, the U.S. retail giant’s cloud computing platform.
Their joint research will focus on developing the Korean version of Amazon Go — the U.S. e-commerce firm’s checkout-free offline mall — as well as using drones to deliver food and beverages, and applying artificial intelligence technology for automated concierge service, according to Hyundai.
The Korean retailer’s aim is to implement Amazon’s cutting-edge technologies to its department store set to open in Yeouido, Seoul’s financial district, in 2020.
“We will partner with Amazon to find a medium- and long-term roadmap to provide a new shopping experience to our customers,” a company official said.
The deal was made as South Korean retailers are moving to secure competitiveness through the use of new technologies.
On Friday, E-Mart Everyday Inc., another major retailer and Shinsegae’s supermarket chain operator, opened a “cashier-less” store in Seoul where customers can pay via the firm’s mobile payment service app without going through a checkout counter.
(Yonhap)
