Lazada builds pop-up store at former Robinsons site, says retail set to recover

Lazada Singapore has launched a pop-up physical store "Come Home to Lazada" as part of its online-to-offline (O2O) retail experience at Raffles City, which was formerly occupied by the now shuttered Robinsons retail store. The pop-up store showcases a complementary way for shoppers to engage on both online and offline platforms, paving the way for the future of new retail shopping. This comes as Lazada sees retail businesses picking up pace to attract customers back to their physical stores, following the gradual reopening of malls and shopping centres. The pop-up store will run until 18 April 2021.

The "Come Home to Lazada" store is said to feature interior ideas "for homes of tomorrow", with the latest home furnishings and work-from-home elements. It also has an area dedicated specifically to Red Mart. Shoppers will be able to explore various interior themes with considerations for smart home integration, and dedicated spaces such as a home office and study-gym. If they are inspired by what they see, the products can be purchased with the Lazada app, by scanning the QR code that directs consumers to the respective product pages on the shopping platform. This way, Lazada said, shoppers will be able to enjoy the space freely, check out the products on display, purchase online immediately, and head back home to wait for their items to arrive.

With its pop-up store, Lazada aims to provide the ideal solution where shoppers can preview a wide selection of home furnishings and appliances, try out and visualise the latest in furniture designs for their home makeover, and buy products directly through the app while eliminating the need to carry these items home. Some of the brands that will be participating in Lazada's pop-up store include Samsung, Sonos, Tefal, Bosch, Motherworks, Bugaboo, Getha, Grohe, Megafurniture, Manduka, Minimotors, Playmobil, Rigel, Schneider Electric, Table Matters, and more. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Lazada for additional comments. 

Lazada's O2O retail store also comes as the brand saw its consumers growing accustomed to the convenience of a new shopping norm: having their purchases delivered to their doorstep. It also looks to promote the wide range of brands and products now available on its platform. According to Lazada, it saw more than 300% increase in sellers that onboarded its platform in the midst of last year's business disruption, where businesses had to pivot online due to temporary closures of their physical stores.

This is not the first time Lazada is venturing into O2O retail experience concept. In 2019, Lazada collaborated with Korean beauty company Amorepacific to launch its AMORE Store x Lazada retail store in Funan. Operating for six months, the shop also touts to blend O2O shopping elements, delivering better customer experience from browsing and sampling products to purchasing and fulfillment. According to Amorepacific, the O2O concept was also the "ideal platform" to introduce brands that have yet to launch in Singapore for local consumers to experience and purchase.

Last October, Shopee also launched a pop-up store in partnership with VIRVICI at Funan. Said to be opened for six months as well, the VIRVICI X Shopee store showcases a range of exclusive products from over 10 Korean beauty brands. Adapting a similar O2O concept, the store also allows consumers to purchase products on the Shopee platform and collect the items in-store immediately, or choose to have it delivered to their homes. Customers can also scan the QR codes next to each product and find more information on Shopee.

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