Mummys Market, the Singapore baby exhibition, has launched its first physical store at Suntec City shopping centre.
The latest retail outlet will offer mothers a space to test out items before purchasing, addressing a challenge after Mummys Market switched to an e-commerce model.
William Chin, founder and director of Mummys Market, said customer feedback underlined the intrinsic value of being able to physically evaluate products before buying them.
“The Covid-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for us to accelerate the planned shift of our operations from events to e-commerce to continue serving our customers. Our transition went very successfully. Setting up this physical retail store addresses these concerns as we have a bigger space to work with,” said Chin
While Mummys Market does have a digital presence, it is a relatively small player in the burgeoning e-commerce field. To adapt the business towards the digital space, it worked to reskill and redeploy employees:
- Sales team members, previously working on selling exhibition space, converted to category managers, working on acquiring content (listings and deals) and doubling up as customer service support for mothers with technical questions on goods they could no longer test physically due to circuit-breaker measures.
- The marketing team, which previously focused on channelling Facebook ads to drive footfall at the fairs, were given a crash course on digital performance strategies and tactics to adapt to the new direction.
- The branding team launched interactive and engaging Facebook Live and TikTok sessions and online webinars in place of the usual pregnancy seminars.
- In-house designers were reallocated to become UI/UX specialists and social-media content producers.
“Covid-19 has hit the events industry hard, and we are fortunate to have such a dynamic team that adapts to changes in the market. While our online fair was successful and popular among users familiar with Mummys Market, we look forward to the day we can welcome mothers back to our fairs once again, be it in a safe physical event and an online fair,” said Chin.
“Mummys Market is constantly iterating new ways and ideas to meet the needs of motherhood. This is just part of our expanding business strategy for the long-term.”
The new store will open from 11 am to 9 pm daily.
