Singapore retailers take inspiration from China's live commerce, AI tools

Caption language: en · Fetched: 2026-07-28

Singapore retailers are looking to China for their next possible business growth. About 30 local retailers were in the city of Hangzhou in March to study fast-moving trends like live commerce and AI-driven personalization. Since then, some have rolled out changes in their business strategy. Ivy Choque reports. >> These AI-generated hosts are live streaming round the clock. Live commerce in China is estimated to be a nearly trillion US dollar industry. The ecosystem has its own designer, production, and customer engagement built to move as one. And that idea has crossed over to Singapore. This looks like a TV studio, not a stock room, and that's the point. For this local fashion brand, they've rebuilt the entire business around a camera and a live audience, and they treat every live stream like a show, not just another sales pitch.

The founder behind fashion label Young, Hungry, Free says the visit to China reshaped how she thought about live commerce. It pushed the brand to be more intentional and find creative ways like games to hook viewers, a concept she calls shoppertainment. >> Like, you're buying for the host, and then you'll pick the outfit, and then you can get it for like a discount, and then later today we're also doing like some mystery bags where you can unveil certain discounts. I think there's a lot more we can explore with this, but it's like what will make it entertaining and what will keep you entertained, and to also really build a community. >> The company also formalized job roles and set up training programs spanning 10 weeks.

It's now looking to ramp up its tech efforts, investing in dashboards to better predict what customers want even before they ask for it. Such moves are happening amid a tough retail climate in Singapore. Rents are high, shoppers are chasing cheaper deals, and buying online from global sources. It's a similar challenge for homegrown toy store chain Tom and Stephanie. Their hurdle, getting customers through the door. >> It's not about like just putting a product in the store and hoping for it to sell. Physical retail stores need to offer something that online doesn't. So, what we are trying to really create is um a reason for customers to come down to the store and experience the products themselves and provide an un- parallel experience for them that they can't get online.

>> After their trip to China, the shop has put in place a DIY stations. That's where shoppers get to engage in activities with the products in their hands. The firm is also planning for pop-up events to spotlight local toy brands in store. The Singapore Retailers Association, which organized the trip to China, says the urgency to reinvent continuously goes beyond any single business. >> We can't compete in price. We can't compete in the size of the market. So, the only way is we create nodes of experiential environment so that our retailers able to ride on this experiential and milk on it and and able to capture their revenue through it. >> The association is now planning the next trip in August and hopes that this will create change in the sector and push retailers to innovate.