Thousands of retailers have been rushing to set-up online shops on big e-commerce platforms due to the pandemic and now, entire shopping malls are going virtual for the first time.
Marina Square Shopping Mall — nestled among luxury hotels and popular tourist attractions in central Singapore — is taking more than 30 of its tenants online with Lazada, the Southeast Asian unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. It’s the first shopping centre in the city-state to create a mini virtual replica of its physical mall.
“It’s a new concept in Singapore,” James Chang, CEO of Lazada Singapore, said in an interview. “From a shopping mall’s perspective, it could be seen as competition, but we worked out this partnership because it provides visibility and awareness of the tenants and offline mall.”
With Lazada, Marina Square is seeking “a balance of online and offline opportunities,” said Lim Hock San, CEO of Marina Centre Holdings. “The online exposure we give to our tenants will benefit them and help support brand awareness.”
Marina Square’s partnership with Lazada will include about a dozen brands that weren’t previously on the e-commerce platform. The mall is also offering vouchers that can be used in physical stores, as part of efforts to draw shoppers back into its outlets.
