Why Singapore is the ideal test lab for “digitised” experiential retail concepts

While online retailing continues to grow in popularity, digital is not the demise of bricks-and-mortar retailers. In fact, Digital must be incorporated into experiential retailing to deliver that ‘total consumption experience’.

With more and more shoppers moving their purchasing behaviour online, it is important for retailers to stay abreast of the digital technologies and provide consumers with an incentive to make their purchases in store.

Through the use of digital technologies, retailers can provide a more engaging experiential retailing experience. Singapore is an ideal market to test consumers’ reactions to these emerging technologies and the role they have in experiential retailing.

Experiential retailing is “a retail strategy that transforms products and services into a total consumption experience. It satisfies emotional or expressive (hedonic (sic.)) desires, as well as rational or functional (utilitarian) needs of the consumer” (Kim and Sullivan, 2007, p. 3).

People are fundamentally social creatures and need to connect with their environment and fellow beings. Digital feeds this need by constantly connecting people in real-time.

Engagements and relationships built in the virtual worlds are often extended to the physical realm and vice versa. The physical and virtual worlds of today’s connected consumer have converged. They are demanding brands to recognise this, and are prepared to reward brands who enable, facilitate and enhance their social connections.

It is important for retailers to become a part of the conversation and engage consumers by talking with their digital and physical personas.

“Digital meets Experiential Retailing” is already an emerging trend and is rapidly gaining momentum in the global arena.

Early this year in London, a “tweet mirror” was launched at Westfield London as part of its Big Fashion Wardrobe event. Designed by Dutch retail services company Nedap, the mirror, with an in-built camera, allows users to take pictures of themselves in their chosen outfits, and then share via email, text, Facebook and Twitter with their friends in real-time, helping them with their purchasing decisions.

The innovative combination of both real world and digital technologies engages both the consumers’ digital and physical presence.

Another example is the well-established “ranKing ranQueen” in Shinjuku Tokyo, which opened its doors a decade ago in July 2001. Describing itself as “a new concept by linking sales and sift through vast amounts of information from the buzz for real combining virtual shop”, ranKing ranQueen sells nothing but consumer-ranked best sellers.

Top-sellers of a wide range of categories are displayed in the Shinjuku shop according to their rankings from their website, with inventory constantly changing - an engaging convergence of physical and virtual world.

Singapore’s Shopping Centres could easily trail this trend, with the potential to surpass overseas Shopping Centres as the ultimate test lab for “digitised” experiential retail concepts.

There are over 140 shopping centres across the island, any of which would be suitable to test digital retail experiences. Not only are there a plethora of available test venues, but there is also a large amount of consumers willing to engage in digital experiences.

Shopping ranks high on Singaporeans’ list of favourite past-time activities which means they regularly engage with brands in person. However, they also have a very high digital presence.

Consumer data illustrates how digitally savvy Singaporean consumes are:

• 67% of Singapore’s population aged 15+ (approx.3.5million) access the internet, with 97% of 15 to 19 year-olds online.
• 80% access internet on a daily basis, 23% own a tablet computer and over 70% use a smartphone.
• 85% of Singaporeans access social media sites to connect or engage with brands and 69% with companies.

Not only are Singaporeans digital savvy and frequent shopping centres across the country, but they are also a very multicultural society which in turn provides for a wide range of sample sizes.

Singapore is a rich population sample pool comprising multicultural, multi-ethnic citizens and foreign talent, easily accessible at once.

The country features people from different economic echelons and backgrounds that can test concepts and

brands from high-end luxury to the everyday products and services.
Agencies across the globe are investing to further explore how emerging technology can play a role in marketing.

IPG Mediabrands, the media unit of Interpublic Group, recently launched the IPG Media Lab in New York City - a fully loaded immersion & exploration center housing the most impressive array of next generation media technologies, platforms and experiences that allows for markets to experiment with emerging technologies to better understand the role they play in developing innovative digital media strategies that position brands at the forefront of the digital realm.

Digital has enabled real-time accessibility, created convenience and delivered richness of content and experiences to the consumer, which in turn added multi-layered complexities to retailers of today.

It is therefore not surprising that retailers, such as Westfield London who has integrated digital in their experiential retailing principles, would stand a better chance of getting into the hearts and minds of consumers, and getting a share of their wallets.

It is time for Singapore to become a part of the digital conversation and cement itself as market that keeps up with emerging technologies and uses these tools to better engage consumers.

Yean Cheong is the Head of Digital Asia with IPG Mediabrands.