Some Singapore retailers turn to China for ideas on live commerce and AI as competition intensifies
After a recent study trip to Hangzhou, some retailers are restructuring teams, investing in technology and redesigning physical stores as they look for new ways to attract shoppers.
Fashion label Young Hungry Free has revamped its livestream strategy, with dedicated presenter and production roles inspired by China’s live commerce ecosystem.
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SINGAPORE: Some retailers in Singapore are looking to China for inspiration as they seek new ways to grow amid high rents and stiff competition.
In March, 32 companies joined a learning trip to Hangzhou organised by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA).
During the trip, they learnt about developments in live commerce, artificial intelligence, logistics and customer engagement, drawing lessons from companies such as Alibaba and ByteDance, according to SRA.
Several businesses have since begun changing how they operate, from restructuring teams around livestreaming to introducing more in-store experiences.
LEARNING FROM CHINA’S LIVE COMMERCE ECOSYSTEM
For local fashion label Young Hungry Free, the trip to China prompted a rethink of its livestream strategy.
It also shifted founder and creative director Winnie Ong’s perspective on what was possible.
“There was a huge feeling of being limitless,” said Ms Ong.
She said the trip showed her how Chinese businesses built “an entire ecosystem” around livestreaming, with design, content, marketing and customer engagement working together to support each livestream.
Soon after returning, the company reorganised its livestream team, introducing clearly defined roles and a structured 10-week training programme for new staff.
The business now has a lead producer overseeing weekly and monthly planning, alongside presenters who front the livestreams.
Behind the scenes, programmers analyse customer comments, product demand and sales trends during each stream to make quick decisions.
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The company has also become intentional about making livestreams entertaining, rather than purely transactional.
Ms Ong describes the approach as “shoppertainment”.
She said the brand has introduced games and interactive segments during livestreams, including blindfold challenges and mystery bag reveals to make shopping more engaging.
While AI-generated presenters are becoming more common in China, Ms Ong said Young Hungry Free is not planning to replace human hosts.
“I think nothing can replace human interaction or human touch,” she said, adding that the team gets to know returning customers over time, including their usernames, measurements and previous purchases.
GIVING SHOPPERS A REASON TO VISIT STORES
Not every retailer is focusing on live commerce.
For homegrown toy store Tom & Stefanie, the priority is making physical stores worth visiting.
Second-generation representative Stefanie Chua said physical retail needs to offer something customers cannot get online.
“It’s not about just putting a product in the store and hoping for it to sell,” she said.
Among its changes are more hands-on experiences in its stores, including DIY stations where children can make slime, decorate clickers and build their own goodie bags.
Pop-up events featuring local toy brands are also in the pipeline.
It has also introduced an online membership programme, with a target of reaching 10,000 members by the end of the year.
Ms Chua said the business is responding to an increasingly challenging retail landscape.
“We are not only competing with other retailers. It’s online and technically the rest of the world as well, because people can just purchase anything from anywhere now,” she said.
“What we try to offer is a unique experience. However, there are definitely a lot of challenges as well, given the high increase in rents.”
WHY CHINA?
SRA president Ernie Koh said China was chosen because its retailers have rapidly adopted technologies such as AI, livestreaming, logistics and data analytics throughout the retail value chain.
Participants also studied how companies use technology to improve logistics and anticipate consumer demand.
China’s logistics capabilities were among the standout lessons from the trip, Mr Koh said.
“They don’t talk about number of days, they don’t even talk about number of hours, they talk about seconds,” he said, describing delivery systems that can position goods close to consumers before orders are placed.
Mr Koh said such technologies allow retailers to move goods much more quickly in response to demand.
While Singapore retailers cannot replicate China’s scale, he said they can adapt some of its ideas to improve customer experience.
“The only way is we create (the) experiential environment, so that our retailers are able to ride on this … and are able to capture their revenue through it.”
The association has signed a memorandum of understanding with TikTok to train local retailers in livestreaming following the Hangzhou trip, and is planning another learning mission in August.
It is also looking at bringing trainers from China to Singapore to share expertise with a wider group of retailers.
Source: CNA/mp(dn)
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