📋 Tender Overview
The Housing Development Board HDB as the largest commercial landlord in the heartlands has developed a new digital solution to help heartland retailers go digital amidst shifts in the retail sector due to the rise of e-commerce and changing consumer behaviours. This will help heartland retailers to transform their business models keep pace with the evolving retail landscape and provide more personalised services to shoppers. 2 The digital solution comprises two mobile applications called RetailerLink and ShopperLink which work in sync to help retailers complement their physical presence with an online shopfront platform. This will enhance the heartland retail experience for shoppers by providing them with more shopping options and personalised services at their convenience. The RetailerLink app will be made available to HDB retailers so that they can adopt digital technology and start on their digitalisation journey while the ShopperLink app will be available for shoppers to browse the offerings at the heartland shops virtually. 3 The two apps were developed in response to feedback from heartland retailers and were tailored to meet their needs. HDB had conducted a series of workshops in 2019 to gather feedback on the challenges faced by heartland retailers and how HDB could help them improve their businesses. Participants who attended the workshops including retailers and representatives from the Merchants Associations saw the need to revitalise the heartland retail experience so as to remain attractive and relevant to shoppers. Suggestions from participants included having a digital platform for advertising and promotion to boost the visibility of HDB retailers as well as a single loyalty programme that will cover all shops in the HDB heartland. These ideas have been incorporated in HDBs RetailerLink and ShopperLink apps. RetailerLink App Helping Heartland Retailers Go Digital4 The RetailerLink app is a one-stop digital platform for HDB retailers to profile their product offerings to a wider audience. For a start retailers can upload their product and service offerings and share latest promotions and productservice launches. 5 Among the features of the RetailerLink app is a chat messaging function that enables retailers to engage customers directly. Retailers can respond to enquiries quickly and even schedule appointments for customers to visit them. With this messaging function retailers can easily stay in touch with their customers build a pool of loyal customers and enhance the retail experience in the HDB heartland. 6 HDB will progressively add new functionalities to the RetailerLink app to support retailers business needs. This includes a full suite of e-services to help retailers manage the lease and tenancy of their shops book event space to supplement their physical retail space and access reports on sales data to track their business revenue.
