Shopping at Singapore’s Bugis Street will be more exciting and less time-consuming as Bugis Street is bringing on board their fashion apparel to the Web.
With this swift decision from Bugis Street Online (a subsidiary of Bugis Street Management), apparels will soon be readily available for purchase online. Frequent patrons of Bugis Street can rejoice when they can shop, browse and buy in the comfort of their own home.
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Mr Ivan Loh, 35, Chief Executive of Bugis Street Online regards this strategic move as a way for Bugis Street retailers “to stay relevant in this very challenging industry”.
“The management has decided to dedicate the resources and effort to build a world-class e-commerce platform that will enable our retailers to sell online, and to a more global audience,” he says.
Retailers will exist both virtually on Bugis Street online as well as physically at Bugis Street itself. Potentially, they can retain their competitive edge over other fashion shops in Singapore.
As shipping will be provided both locally and internationally, the virtual store will cater to Singapore residents, and reach out to shoppers abroad.
Rachel Yohannan, 20, a regular shopper at Bugis Street feels that the introduction of the online store will allow her to shop more efficiently and conveniently.
She expresses her pet peeve when shopping at Bugis Street, “…the passageways there are already rather small and when it’s crowded it’s even harder to manoeuvre around and I have to waste time waiting for people to slowly move off before I can proceed to other shops that I want to visit.”
She reckons that she will use the website as a catalogue to browse for items she fancy but will still head down to the physical store at Bugis Street to check out the quality of the clothing.
“[Normally], I really scour the place because I want to check out everything that’s new since my previous visit. But I guess with the site I wouldn’t have to do that.”
She adds, “I can go there with a clearer purpose as I’ll know what exactly it is I’m searching for and which area of Bugis Street I can get it at.”
So far, close to 200 retailers of the 300 shops at Bugis Street have already signed up to list their apparel on the virtual store, this includes fashion brands like Cupid, Rainbowbelle, Jetsetters, 2nd Edition, and Y&J.
Retailers who sign up to list their apparel online need not pay subscription fees, however a percentage commission from online transactions will be deducted to defray operational costs. A total of S$500,000 has been pumped in, solely for the creation of the online shopping platform.
Mr Loh emphasises the advantages and importance of creating an “omni-channel presence” to enable retailers to stay competitive by having “both a brick and mortar shop space, as well as an e-commerce store”.
Patrons can also start shopping online, however, there’s currently a limited amount of apparel that can be found on the website as only a handful of retailers has been listed.
Leading up to the launch, the team behind Bugis Street Online is in the midst of processing the rest of the retailers’ products. The website is also being tweaked and enhanced to perfect the online platform.
Come September 2014, Bugis Street Online will officially launch the virtual store with more listed items from all the retailers who have signed up. The store’s mobile site will be compatible on phones, and patrons do not need to download any phone application for their shopping.
Mr Loh hopes that “Bugis Street will be a brand synonymous with online and offline shopping, as well as a provider of memorable experiences”.
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