Stockmann is investing in tourist services – tourist information point opened at the Helsinki city centre department store

A My Helsinki tourist information point manned by tourist guides from the City of Helsinki was opened at Stockmann’s Helsinki city centre department store a couple of weeks ago. The point provides information to tourists during the high season. Tourists are a growing customer segment for Stockmann, and the department store is constantly developing its services for them. 

The City of Helsinki opened a tourist information point on the first floor of Stockmann’s Helsinki city centre department store on Wednesday, 16 May.  The My Helsinki info point is located in the department store’s lift lobby. It is manned by tourist information staff and provides digital services for information searches as well as maps and brochures for tourists throughout the year.

“We want to ramp up our efforts to attract tourists, as they form an important and growing customer segment. The new tourist info point has an excellent location in our department store and it offers convenient access by the lifts to the eighth floor, to the Visitor Center which focuses on customer service for tourists and, of course, to our Roof terrace which offers some of the best views of Helsinki,” says Anna Salmi, Chief Customer Officer at Stockmann.

The Helsinki department store will also see the opening of a popup store intended for tourists on 7 June. Located on the ground floor, the store will sell Finland-themed souvenirs and products during the summer. A restaurant world that includes three restaurants was also opened on the ground floor in April, offering taste experiences for all kinds of preferences. Moreover, the open-air Roof restaurant, which was opened about a year ago on the roof of the department store, will offer even more spectacular views of the city’s rooftops, thanks to an extension completed this spring. The Moomin Café located on the fifth floor is also popular among tourists, in particular.

Chinese tourists prefer apps that make shopping easier

Chinese visitors already represent the second largest group of tourists in tax free shopping offered to visitors from outside the EU, after Russians.

To provide even better service for Chinese tourists, Stockmann introduced the world’s largest mobile payment service, Alipay, at its Helsinki city centre department store in September 2017 and expanded its use to all of its department stores in Finland beginning from March 2018.

“Alipay has been excellently received at our Helsinki city centre department store, as Chinese tourists have eagerly used it this year. We welcome tourists from everywhere and are offering them a voucher that gives them a 10% discount on a day of their choosing”, says Salmi.

Stockmann is also featured on the popular Chinese WeChat app. A Helsinki mini app was added to WeChat in February 2018, with Stockmann among the first to be included in the app’s Shopping section. Stockmann offers a discount coupon through the app, which Chinese tourists can use to gain a tourist discount on their purchases.

Further information:
Anna Salmi, CCO, Stockmann, tel. +358 40 721 0280