Shopping goes hi-tech at Paya Lebar mall
Tech innovations abound at SingPost Centre outlets, from GPO to FairPrice
Consumers can use an app to locate items on a shopping list, collect online orders from refrigerated lockers, get alerts to discounts even as they shop, visit a smart post office with self-service available round the clock, and watch a movie with super-sharp images.
These are some of the technological innovations at the new SingPost Centre mall, which was launched yesterday after two years of redevelopment.
Located next to the Paya Lebar MRT station, the five-storey shopping centre, managed by CapitaLand, has up to 130 stores.
Among its major tenants are:
- The General Post Office (GPO), the country's largest and its first smart post office with a flagship Philatelic Store
- A state-of-the-art NTUC FairPrice supermarket, which will also be a test lab for innovative retail technologies• A Golden Village cineplex, the first with all eight screens offering superior image quality through smart laser technology• A Kopitiam food court, and Platform M, a food hall whose design is inspired by the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
In particular, the 23,000 sqft FairPrice store offers consumers a glimpse of what shopping for groceries could be like in future.
Among new initiatives being piloted is the FairPrice@SingPost mobile app that allows customers to check stock availability and locate a shopping list of products with in-store navigation.
The app, which can be downloaded on Apple and Android app stores, will personalise promotions for customers based on their shopping habits.
NTUC FairPrice chief executive Seah Kian Peng told reporters that it has plans to "scale" the app at other stores.
Noting that the new store offers customers a faster, easier and more seamless shopping experience, he added: "This technology-driven supermarket will serve as a 'living lab' to pilot new and innovative retail technologies, designed to revolutionise the grocery shopping experience."
To save time at self-checkout counters, it will also feature the Scan2Go system, now in use at its Bukit Timah Plaza outlet.
It allows shoppers to scan items off the shelves with a handheld scanner, which will show a running tally of their purchases, total amount spent, product descriptions and promotions.
The store is the first to have self-checkout counters that can be converted quickly to cashier-manned during high-traffic periods.
Brands can also engage customers using augmented and virtual reality, digital games and interactive booths in an "experiential corner" in the store.
Online shoppers can collect their purchases at automated lockers, including refrigerated ones, at the store.
As for SingPost, its new GPO is the first of its Smart Post Office network, with plans to roll out unmanned smart post offices in estates like Punggol and Sengkang in coming years, subject to regulatory approval, The Straits Times reported.
Incorporating elements from its former location at Fullerton, the GPO includes an enhanced self-service area that offers 24/7 access to new-generation SAM kiosks, POPStation lockers, and a drop box for registered articles.
Powered by Apple iPads, the SAM kiosks enable customers to buy stamps, track mail, and pay bills.
Its largest POPStation of 143 lockers allows customers to collect and drop off parcels as part of the growing e-commerce trend, and customers can weigh parcels and print labels at the SAM machines before depositing them in the drop box.
Another feature of SingPost's digital strategy is the new SAM omnichannel platform, which comprises kiosks, web and mobile apps, and "places a post office virtually in the pockets of every customer".
SingPost Group CEO Paul Coutts said it is working closely with CapitaLand and online retail giant Lazada to finalise details for a "click and collect" service at the mall.
He said: "While what we deliver and how we deliver may be changing, our commitment remains the same: We deliver, come rain or shine."
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