CapitaLand next to take a bite out of food delivery biz

CapitaLand has made foray into eCommerce and online food ordering with the launch of eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats respectively. In a bid to complement sales of its shopping malls in Singapore, both platforms aim to drive sales for retailers during the first phase safe reopening and beyond.

According to CapitaLand, eCapitaMall is a curated digital mall featuring the merchandise of retailers, the majority of whom also operate in CapitaLand Singapore’s malls. It looks to offer shoppers the flexibility to browse online before purchasing in-store or browse in-store before purchasing online. For online purchases, shoppers can opt for home delivery or in-store collection.

Separately, Capita3Eats is Singapore’s first mall-operated food ordering platform that offers consumers three ways to fulfil their food orders – delivery, takeaway or dine-in. Both platforms will be accessible by the public via CapitaLand’s CapitaStar app and mall websites from 1 June 2020. From the third quarter 2020 onwards, these platforms will also include the added flexibility to pay online using eCapitaVoucher.

These new eCommerce initiatives come shortly after CapitaLand rolled out a SG$10 million marketing initiative to support retail partners through the challenges brought on by COVID-19. CapitaLand said in February 2020, the marketing assistance programme will be used to support both retailer-driven promotions and mall-wide marketing initiatives. These include complimentary booking of atrium spaces for retailers and free parking for shoppers during lunch or dinner hours. A series of marketing initiatives under the campaign banner “CapitaLand + You” (“凯德为你加油” in Chinese) will also be lined up to boost spending in its malls.

Chris Chong, managing director, Retail, CapitaLand Singapore, said the circuit breaker has brought to the fore the importance of an omnichannel, 24/7 strategy for Singapore’s retailers. According to Chong, in the long term, the company’s vision is to leverage CapitaLand’s extensive network to become an ecosystem provider, offering value-added services that support the needs of its retail partners holistically, both offline and online.

“As the operator of Singapore’s largest mall network, we want to help our retailers reach out to more consumers and online business opportunities by leveraging the strong brand awareness of CapitaLand and the digital capabilities we have built up over the years. Retailers on our eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats platforms will get a leg up in the digital space by tapping the more than one million CapitaStar members in Singapore and marketing reach through our physical network,” he added.

CapitaLand has also been expanding its eCommerce capabilities on CapitaStar progressively. In February 2019, CapitaLand introduced eCapitaVoucher, the digital version of CapitaVoucher. When Funan opened in June 2019, CapitaLand uploaded tenants’ product catalogues onto the in-mall interactive directories and website to enhance shoppers’ online and offline product discovery process. Selected mall services such as the reservation of car park lots and booking of futsal court in Funan were also made available on the CapitaStar app. Further in July 2019, CapitaLand unveiled NomadX.sg, an eCommerce site for the NomadX concept store at Plaza Singapura. NomadX.sg is also accessible via the CapitaStar app.

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