Lotte Residence Procuring, the e-commerce arm of retail big Lotte, launched its NFT Store platform simply over two years in the past, in Could 2022. The corporate introduced on June 12 that it’s going to stop NFT store providers on July 2.
Prospects accessed the buying and selling platform via the Lotte Residence Procuring cell app. The platform was a part of Lotte’s technique to construct a metaverse platform for the longer term.
Use of Fiat Forex and Company Tie-ins
In contrast to typical NFT buying and selling platforms, NFT Store facilitated transactions utilizing fiat KRW, aiming to make NFTs accessible to non-crypto holders. Lotte Residence Procuring additionally launched its personal NFT line that includes the company character Bellygom to draw customers.
Lotte Residence Procuring collaborated with Daehong Communications, a crypto startup owned by Lotte Group, for its NFT initiatives. NFTs have been launched on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain community, and the partnership expanded over time.
Supply: Daehongofficial
The retailer prolonged its NFT attain by integrating NFTs with digital influencer Lucy and the favored horror film “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One.” Plans have been underway to allow secondary NFT gross sales on Opensea, the world’s largest NFT buying and selling platform.
Supply: right here.me.lucy/Instagram
Give attention to Core Enterprise Areas
Following the closure of NFT Store, Lotte Residence Procuring will utterly withdraw from the NFT sector. The remaining NFT enterprise, together with Bellygom NFT, will transition to Daehong Communications.
Hyundai Division Retailer additionally lately exited the NFT market after launching its NFT pockets providers (H.NFT) in 2022, which supplied reductions and free items to prospects. Equally, Shinsegae has scaled again its NFT choices amidst the slowdown within the NFT market.
An unnamed trade insider remarked, “Retailers rushed into the NFT business initially, but with the market slowdown, they are now shutting down their platforms one after another. They are redirecting efforts to strengthen their core business competitiveness.”
In conclusion, the selections by Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae replicate a strategic shift amongst South Korean retailers away from NFTs in direction of reinforcing their core enterprise areas. These closures mark a notable retreat from the once-promising NFT sector, underscoring the challenges confronted as market dynamics evolve.