Luxury travel retailer DFS Group and Ant Group have entered a strategic partnership to improve payments and marketing digitalisation across the DFS retail and online stores network. With consumer habits shifting towards digital lifestyles, DFS is set to leverage Alipay+ to provide an end-to-end digital experience, engaging with its customers pre-, during-, and post-shopping across 36 stores in 15 markets, and 12 online shops in 4 markets.

DFS – Ant Group partnership details and its effect on travel retail Based on the information detailed in the press release, the partnership seeks to serve the digital-first habits of travellers as DFS records a threefold increase in spending via Alipay at its stores. DFS and Ant Group are to collaborate on the following: Deploying marketing cooperation – increasing DFS’ visibility directly within Alipay and Alipay+ partner wallets’ apps and mutually offering increasingly targeted, personalised, and relevant rewards for shoppers, including exclusive offers. Integrating Alipay+ as a payment option, enabling cross-border payment acceptance from mobile wallets – allowing travellers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand to pay using their mobile wallet, benefiting from greater convenience, security, and improved FX rates. Through Alipay+, DFS is to be enabled to accept cross-border payments from Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), Kakao Pay (South Korea) and TrueMoney (Thailand). Driving online-to-offline experiences – DFS launched Alipay+ D-Store within the Alipay app to allow Chinese tourists to shop from DFS at any time, as well as to reserve their favourite products and collect them in-store or have them delivered.

A digital sore solution, Alipay+ D-Store provides a suite of toolkits to digitalise merchants’ business, operation, and marketing. Exclusive #moneycannotbuy experiences – the companies are developing membership privileges of the likes of tier-matching, premier FX rates, and projects that offer exclusive in-store experiences. Bettering post-shopping experiences – by improving the Tax Refund experience in DFS stores, tourists can benefit from more convenient and efficient Tax Refund services. They can also follow DFS’ mini programme in Alipay to receive up-to-date news and benefits, at all times and places. When commenting on the announcement, Long Chiu, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Digital Ventures, at DFS Group advised that the alliance with Ant Group is not only about numbers and statistics but about creating a simplified and improved experience for travellers and shoppers.

The spokesperson believes their commitment to ‘excellence and customer satisfaction’ to be elevated through this collaboration and hopes that Ant’s expertise alongside their aim to provide advanced services will help further their success. From the 2014 DFS – Ant Group partnership onwards, their cooperation has evolved from Alipay acceptance in Hong Kong SAR to payment and digital marketing innovation throughout the world. Dr Cherry Huang, General Manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services, Ant Group said that the company is looking forward to strengthening the partnership with DFS, advancing to incorporating more mobile wallets, marketing capabilities, and D-Store online-offline integration via Alipay+.

As travel resumes, Ant Group aims to assist more brands in catering to the new digital-first habits and drive ongoing visibility and growth for them. Per the announcement information, the expanded partnership comes at a time when global travel is resuming. Consumers have increased expectations of digital experiences, furthered by the strong adoption of mobile wallets, that are set to shape the travel and retail experience, making it vital for brands to adapt to these needs.

By the end of 2023, DFS and Alipay+ are to jointly launch Summer Campaign, the National Day Holiday Campaign and the Christmas and New Year Campaign, all set to provide shoppers with an enhanced digital experience. .