SINGAPORE: The digital evolution of the Singaporean consumer prompted NTUC Fairprice, Singapore's iconic grocery brand, to a major rethink in marketing strategy – but changing direction as a market leader is not without its challenges, according to a senior executive at the company.
Christina Lim, Director - Brand and Marketing for NTUC Fairprice, addressed this issue at a recent industry conference, where she explained that while the grocery chain commands a dominant market share in Singapore, the company cannot stand still but has to evolve along with the city-state itself.
"We have 60% market share (in Singapore). There will still be a belief that we have done it so well for the last 43 years, why do we need to change?" Lim said. (For more details read Warc's exclusive report: Singapore's NTUC Fairprice rethinks loyalty with content marketing.)
Singapore's millennials are more brand agnostic and less loyal to NTUC Fairprice than previous generations, Lim revealed, and Singapore's near universal smartphone penetration – alongside the rising popularity of e-commerce – has prompted a focus on customer experience and content marketing.
"The way the internet has shaped (the shopper's experience) – their expectation has changed … if you want the customer to stay with you, it goes beyond reward. It has to be about delivering a relevant, great experience," Lim stated.
A closer look at customer segments has also helped NTUC FairPrice build loyalty and engagement through content marketing, such as video tutorials which are both available online and shown in stores.
"One of our top two customer segments is people who really enjoy buying fresh food," Lim said. "We know the customer loves to cook. So, we try to get that connection through content. They love food, they would like to know where the food comes from, how to cook it… we have over 1,000 videos."
And it's working, Lim revealed: more than 60% of viewers online return to watch again, and the store presence is also driving customers online to learn more about the products.
"What we found is that in some of the A/B testing we did of product categories, 30% of the traffic toward those videos came from the stores. So people were really interested," she said.
"Right now we are operating multi-channel, but we're hoping to be able to offer a true omni-channel experience."
Christina Lim, Director - Brand and Marketing for NTUC Fairprice, addressed this issue at a recent industry conference, where she explained that while the grocery chain commands a dominant market share in Singapore, the company cannot stand still but has to evolve along with the city-state itself.
"We have 60% market share (in Singapore). There will still be a belief that we have done it so well for the last 43 years, why do we need to change?" Lim said. (For more details read Warc's exclusive report: Singapore's NTUC Fairprice rethinks loyalty with content marketing.)
Singapore's millennials are more brand agnostic and less loyal to NTUC Fairprice than previous generations, Lim revealed, and Singapore's near universal smartphone penetration – alongside the rising popularity of e-commerce – has prompted a focus on customer experience and content marketing.
"The way the internet has shaped (the shopper's experience) – their expectation has changed … if you want the customer to stay with you, it goes beyond reward. It has to be about delivering a relevant, great experience," Lim stated.
A closer look at customer segments has also helped NTUC FairPrice build loyalty and engagement through content marketing, such as video tutorials which are both available online and shown in stores.
"One of our top two customer segments is people who really enjoy buying fresh food," Lim said. "We know the customer loves to cook. So, we try to get that connection through content. They love food, they would like to know where the food comes from, how to cook it… we have over 1,000 videos."
And it's working, Lim revealed: more than 60% of viewers online return to watch again, and the store presence is also driving customers online to learn more about the products.
"What we found is that in some of the A/B testing we did of product categories, 30% of the traffic toward those videos came from the stores. So people were really interested," she said.
"Right now we are operating multi-channel, but we're hoping to be able to offer a true omni-channel experience."
Data sourced from Warc
