Show and Shop

Retailers are moving away from the conventional to woo customers

Tay Suan Chiang

Published Thu, May 19, 2022 · 07:00 PM

Design

STEP into a supermarket such as Tanglin Market Place in Tanglin Mall, and you would be greeted with row upon row of colourful fruits and vegetables.

But at the soon-to-open Little Farms, located on the second floor of the same mall, shoppers will be greeted by displays of cheese, a bakery with bread freshly baked on site, a butcher and deli section.

Staff will be on hand to greet customers, invite them to taste the products or watch the bakers mill grain and knead dough. The idea is to recreate the feel of a farmers’ market, “much like in Europe or Australia, where there is bantering and tasting”, says Joe Stevens, chief executive and executive chairman of Little Farms.

After 2 years of Covid restrictions, he firmly believes customers will welcome a more interactive retail experience. It is in line with current trends to make brick-and-mortar shopping more exciting, to draw customers who have become accustomed to…