When Changi Airport Group first awarded South Korean travel retailer Lotte Duty Free the liquor and tobacco concession rights here at the end of 2019, many of us got excited at the prospect of Korean alcohol labels making their way into travel retail. And now, the wait may finally be over.
Starting June 12, you’ll be able to shop a curated range of Lotte Duty Free products via Changi Airport’s duty-free e-commerce platform iShopChangi.com. In addition to the tax- and duty-absorbed prices the site offers, Lotte will also be offering 7% off on selected items till June 30 to celebrate its debut, plus a further 5% discount voucher for your next in-store purchase.
While Changi Airport has confirmed in a release that Singapore residents can also shop selected Lotte Duty Free products on iShopChangi.com without flying, it wasn’t stated what the products offered will be. So we can only wait and see if it includes alcohol, like what we had with the now defunct iShopChangiWines.com.
Meanwhile, they remain hard at work to revamp all 18 liquor and tobacco shops across Changi Airport’s four terminals into Lotte stores. Terminals 1 and 3 will be renovated first, once circuit breaker measures have been appropriately lifted.
Expect the physical stores to eventually offer a wide range of brands and products, including a dedicated collection of Korean and Singaporean labels, Changi Airport exclusives, limited-edition whiskies and cognacs, and even alcohol-free options.
Apparently, we can look forward to new, unique in-store concepts as well, such as a cognac brand boutique, immersive experience zones for whiskey, gin and wines, plus a high-tech tasting bar, among many other things.
Lotte Duty Free will eventually offer over 3000 tax- and duty-free wines and spirits as it expands its product line-up progressively. As for when the first physical store will open, it’ll depend on how quickly construction works can begin.
More info on Lotte Duty Free here.
