ONE VIEWPOINT
Recognising the shift towards a
mobile first environment…
Why technology
adoption is critical
in the age of
omni-channel retail
Jeremy Khoo
G ro u p C E O ,
i Fa s h i o n G ro u p
In an embattled retail scene that is
under constant disruption, embracing
technology can be a game-changer to tip
the scales in favour of business owners.
6
Retail Asia May 2018
T
he retail sector has reached
a tipping point in Singapore
and other major economies
around the world.
Prompted by evolutions in
technology, conventional retail habits
have undergone drastic changes.
Consumers are now gravitating towards
online shopping while eschewing retail
stores, leading to a steady decline in
retail sales and low tenancy rates.
The issue is exacerbated by the rise
of the millennials, representing one of
the largest generations in history and
anticipated to play a central role in
the ebb and flow of retail in the years
ahead. According to management
consulting and professional services
firm Accenture, they will have more
spending power than previous
generations, with millennials in Asia
expected to collectively possess an
estimated US$6 trillion in disposable
income by 2020.
However, research from
management consulting firm Bain &
Co suggests that millennials possess
vastly different preferences from their
generational counterparts, leaving even
the trendiest of brands dumbfounded
at what drives their purchase decisions.
There is no question that the retail
industry is experiencing a sea change,
with the North American retail scene
described by investment banking
company Piper Jaffray as under going a
“historic moment of truth”.
With the entry of e-commerce
giant Amazon into Singapore, has the
death knell sounded for retailers in the
island nation?
The end of bricks-and-
mortar retail in Singapore?
Not quite, it seems.
While e-commerce has indeed
been a huge disruptor for retail, it
would be incorrect to say that it is
solely responsible for the shifting
fortunes of bricks-and-mortar
retailers.
Evidence is pointing to a
phenomenon termed ‘digital-first
retail’ which posits that there is an
increasing tendency for consumers’
purchase decisions to be influenced
by digital channels. Studies by market
researchers Forrester and Deloitte
have estimated digital-driven bricks-
and-mortar sales to outpace online
sales by a staggering five-fold margin.
With a tech-savvy millennial
audience, digital is increasingly the
gateway to retail sales. The digital-first
retail effect was perhaps behind the
rise in sales in the Great Singapore
Sale, which had leveraged a mobile
app to drive traffic to stores, while
retailers simultaneously offered online
catalogues to woo shoppers.
Far from competing for market
share, it is clear that digital channels
could serve to boost in-store sales
instead.
According to Bloomberg, the
Singapore retail scene is a tough nut
to crack as most of the population
are in close proximity to shopping
malls. For this reason, Singapore trails
behind most developed economies in
e-commerce growth rates.
Bloomberg also found that
Singaporean consumers preferred