GS25's Wine25Plus tops W200b in cumulative orders after 6 years

GS Retail announced Wednesday that Wine25Plus, its smart liquor ordering platform, has surpassed 200 billion won ($151 million) in cumulative orders in the six years since its launch.

Wine25Plus allows customers to order liquor through the Woori Dongne GS app or KakaoTalk's gift service and pick up their purchases at GS25 or GS The Fresh stores. The platform carries more than 10,000 products, including wine, beer, whisky, sake and baijiu.

Orders from January through September this year rose 46.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. The number of repeat customers grew 32.1 percent over the same period, while roughly 100,000 new customers have been joining the platform each year, steadily supporting its growth.

Wine25Plus also plays a central role in GS Retail's online-to-offline, or O4O, strategy. Because customers collect their orders in person at physical stores, the pickup model drives additional in-store purchases. In fact, 25 percent of Wine25Plus users at GS25 and 50 percent at GS The Fresh made additional purchases during their visit.

The platform has also generated clear synergies with the Woori Dongne GS app. About 20 percent of first-time Wine25Plus buyers turned out to be new Woori Dongne GS app users who signed up through Wine25Plus.

GS Retail will hold its fifth Grand Tasting liquor fair at GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, on Thursday to expand Wine25Plus's customer reach. The event is designed as an experiential program where visitors can sample liquors from various countries and complete themed missions. A lecture on Chinese baijiu culture and the prominent Chinese baijiu brand Kweichow Moutai is also on the program.

"We will continue to raise customer satisfaction through differentiated products and services and strengthen our competitiveness in the smart liquor ordering market," said Kim Yu-mi, head of GS Retail's Wine25Plus team.