CapitaLand inks pact with Alibaba, Lazada to connect shoppers offline and online

CAPITALAND has tied up with two leading e-commerce players - Alibaba Group and Lazada Group - as it positions itself as an "omni-channel" retail landlord that connects retailers to shoppers offline and online.

CapitaLand said on Wednesday that it inked an agreement to manage Alibaba Shanghai Centre - the e-commerce giant's new headquarters in Shanghai will comprise four office towers and a retail podium - to "reinvent modern retail through the seamless integration of offline and online (O&O) channels".

In Singapore, the real estate stalwart signed a pact to launch an exclusive online mall on Lazada Singapore which is part of Lazada Group.

The shop-in-shop on Lazada.SG will position CapitaLand as Singapore's first omni-channel retail landlord that connects retailers to shoppers both offline and online, complemented by a unique in-mall collection service for shoppers, said CapitaLand.

"The key to unlocking the next stage of growth lies in blending physical and digital channels to create a seamless O&O experience that is sought after by consumers," said CapitaLand president and group chief executive Lim Ming Yan.

"We will continue to leverage digital tools and partner disruptors to strengthen our customer engagement, embrace smart building technologies to uplift the quality of our built environment, and harness data to enhance customer experience at our properties. Neither an offline-only nor online-only business model will work; it is in the combination of O&O where long-term success can be found," he added.

Under the contract with Alibaba, CapitaLand will oversee the pre-opening and management of the shopping podium and one of the four office towers in Alibaba Shanghai Center, which has a total Gross Floor Area (GFA), excluding car park, of about 80,000 square metres.

In Singapore, it will launch a shop-in-shop aggregating the offerings of retailers in its Singapore malls on Lazada.SG by the end of this year. Shoppers who patronise the CapitaLand official store on Lazada.SG will have the option to collect their purchases in CapitaLand malls.

For a start, CapitaLand will roll out two unmanned click-and-collect lounges at Plaza Singapura and Bugis+ for shoppers to collect and return their parcels. In addition to collection lockers, the lounges will feature fitting rooms and a product-testing bench to enhance the overall shopping experience.

Both CapitaLand and Lazada will allocate resources to onboard retailers and promote the platform to shoppers, with the intention of rapidly scaling up the initiative in the next two years.

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