CJ Olive Young woos tourists in search of K-beauty’s ‘glass skin’

Free skin scans are driving loyalty beyond Korea.

South Korean beauty retailer CJ Olive Young Corp. is expanding its self-operated skin analyser machines nationwide as it tries to woo foreign tourists who want K-beauty’s highly coveted “glass skin.”

The free skin scan service went viral on social media and increased customer engagement, with about 72% of foreign shop visitors using the service, Se-hoon Jin, executive vice president of global platform business at CJ Olive Young, told Retail Asia.

“International [visitors] often begin by researching various product categories on social media, then make additional purchase decisions after receiving in-store consultations from staff,” he said.

CJ Olive Young’s branches in “global tourist zones” like Myeongdong in Seoul feature multilingual signage, electronic shelf labels, and dedicated displays like “K-Beauty Now” and “Global Hot Issues.”

“As more international visitors become familiar with local trends, the line between domestic and foreign consumers is increasingly blurred,” Jin said.

The global K-beauty product market was worth $91.99b in 2022 and is projected to grow 9.3% annually through 2030, according to California-based Grand View Research.

CJ Olive Young plans to increase the number of stores with skin analyser machines, which provide free, personalised skincare advice, to about 100 by year-end from 36 now, Jin said.

“This plan is not only for our global customers; it's aimed at enhancing the overall shopping experience for K-beauty lovers, including those in Korea,” he added.

Staff also use CJ Olive Young’s in-house app SELLY to recommend products based on each customer’s skin type, texture preferences, and ingredient needs.

At its flagship store in Seoul’s Seongsu district, customers who used the Skin Scan Pro service had a purchase conversion rate of 78%, compared with 43% for other visitors.

To keep engagement after tourists leave Korea, vending machines in four major stores, including Gwangbok Town and Myeongdong Station, help customers sign up for the Olive Young Global Mall online store. About 330,000 global members signed up in 2023.

The Olive Young Global Mall has 2.46 million global members and offers more than 10,000 products, including the latest K-beauty items, wellness goods, and K-pop merchandise.

Online orders more than doubled at the company’s grand sale in March last year, driven by international tourists who continued shopping online after returning home.

The company also offered personalised consultations in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese to customers at its Gangnam branch in March, and plans to expand the service to other stores.

Last year, CJ Olive Young’s revenue rose 26.7% annually to $3.43b (KRW4.79t) from 2020, with offline sales making up 70% of the total.

Early this year, it set up a unit in the US where it plans to open its first international branch.

“Understanding each country’s beauty customer base and curating localised product selections are key, along with differentiating from existing local distribution networks,” Jin said.

“Given that K-beauty trends transcend borders, there’s strong potential for Olive Young’s model to integrate successfully in overseas markets,” he added.