Duty Free boosts partnership with Alipay

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Duty Free Philippines (DFP) is expanding its partnership with mobile payments provider Alipay as it eyes to further capitalize on the growing Chinese tourist market.

In a statement, DFP said the expanded partnership with Alipay will now include rebates and extra savings on purchases.

These include up to 20 percent discount on selected luxury brands and 40 renminbi rebates for a minimum spend of 800 renminbi at Luxe Duty Free in Pasay City and DFP outlets inside Cebu-Mactan International Airport.

“The strategy is in line with the increasing Chinese tourist arrivals and workforce in the Philippines,” DFP chief operating officer Vicente Pelagio Angala said.

DFP signed an agreement with Alipay and WeChat in November, making the two official payment providers of DFP’s stores.

“The amount of payments made by Chinese customers through Alipay has increased by about 900 percent since the mobile payment was introduced,” DFP said.

In addition, DFP said the number of Chinese customers who shopped at the said outlets has been consistently growing, with a 64 percent share to the total number of customers during the first half of 2019.

“We target to increase our market share by meeting the needs of our potential customers by making sure that we keep up with innovations and current trends,” Angala said.

“These efforts will enhance DFP’s retail presence to continually contribute to government’s tourism programs and projects through our revenue share to Department of Tourism,” he added.

Alipay is currently available at Luxe Duty Free and outlets inside Cebu-Mactan International Airport.

DFP earlier identified the Chinese market as among its potential drivers of growth for this year, driven by the continued influx of tourists from China.

China remained the country’s second largest source market from January to July this year, registering a 35.55 percent increase in arrivals to 1.04 million from 766,079 arrivals in the same period last year.