Suntec launches livestream shopping to lure customers back to malls

Singapore

SUNTEC City on Tuesday evening launched what it says is Singapore's first-ever livestreaming shopping festival, taking a leaf from the rising popularity of the livestream shopping trend in China.

The four-day event is a bid to reach out to consumers who are still nervous about going to malls, and to extend its "opening hours" to 11.30pm each night.

Called "The Suntec Shopping Festival", the interactive livestream can be viewed from the Suntec+ app every evening between 7.30pm and 11.30pm from June 23 to 26, 2020.

Each day features interactive sessions showcasing 16 participating Suntec City stores, with more than 40 brands, including Harvey Norman, Fossil, Aldo, Royal Sporting House,

W Optics, Clarks and ToTT. There are also discount events and lucky draws.

Anthony Yip, deputy chairman of APM Property Management, the property manager of Suntec City, told The Business Times on Wednesday that the event has seen a "very healthy rate of participation" among its 200,000 registered members. Shoppers were enthusiastic in interacting with the hosts, although he declined to discuss sales numbers.

Livestream shopping adds an interactive dimension to traditional online shopping. Globally, platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba have launched livestream shopping channels with great success. Last year, Alibaba's Taobao captivated 400 million users with more than 60,000 livestream shopping shows and generated US$28 billion in sales.

Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore, said that many retailers are already riding the wave of retail "digi-tainment" by using live-streaming to present and sell their products in a way that goes beyond pure display and sell functions.

Some examples in Singapore include Shopee Live, which offers tools for retailers to engage with their customers via livestream features and encourage purchases; Tekka Online Market, which launched in early May to allow sellers to showcase and promote their fresh produce via livestreaming to an online audience; as well as the Digital Shilin Singapore 2020 in June this year, a virtual event where festival-goers can order street food, participate in social shopping, and enjoy the line-up of livestreamed entertainment from their homes.

"More companies are beginning and will continue to use livestream functions to market their products creatively and create brand loyalty," he said, adding that such retailers are perceived to be more authentic and attuned to their followers, compared to those that use digital platforms purely for commercial transactions.

"Some even hire popular livestreamer celebrities or influencers on their permanent payroll to gain immediate access to a large following of potential customers... The livestream and live commerce trend is surely set to continue growing rapidly and be the future of e-commerce."

Suntec City held the festival through its Suntec+ app, which also has a Suntec+ eMall for completing transactions and a Suntec+ Eats function that enables its office tenants to receive free delivery within Suntec City.

Mr Yip said that during the circuit breaker and Phase 1 period, tenants had conducted their own e-commerce campaigns. The latest move is the property manager's attempt to help boost exposure and sales for retailers who want to try something new. Participating retailers pay a "small" platform fee to join.

Mr Yip is sure that this event will not be the last. He added that mall traffic in the first weekend of reopening was about half of the "more than 100,000 people per day" footfall that the mall used to enjoy before Covid-19, as its priority remains to ensure shopper safety. About 80 per cent of its tenants have resumed business; most of those that remain closed belong to the entertainment sector.

While he expects that there will be "some fallout" from Covid-19, in terms of tenants vacating even in spite of government measures to help them, he believes that pent-up demand will gradually return.

Most mall landlords in Singapore remain cautious about ensuring social distancing and the safety of shoppers in their malls, and say that they will only look into mall promotions later on.

CapitaLand, meanwhile, said that in the three weeks since the launch of its new online platforms, eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats, more than 280 online merchants have signed on from the group's retail ecosystem.

It is on track to hit its target of 500 merchants by the end of the year. On July 18, one of its tenants, The Green Capsule, will also be hosting a terrarium workshop via Instagram Live. Participants can pre-purchase their DIY terrarium kits via eCapitaMall before joining the online class. (see amendment note)

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that The Green Capsule's workshop will take place on July 28. It will in fact be held on July 18.