The annual Great Singapore Sale (GSS) is making an appearance once again, but this time, it is making its first virtual debut.
As part of the GSS, the Furniture Centrum is holding a virtual mall, which will house showrooms for 28 local furniture brands.
It will offer shoppers the same luxury as if they were at the mall — shoppers will have the liberty to browse for sofas, tables, and lamps, all from the comfort of their own homes.
The virtual event will also give shoppers the opportunity to visualise how the furniture will look like in a specific setting, for example, a living room.
By recreating the furniture in 3D, consumers have a chance to replicate a retail experience similar to that within an actual store.
The virtual event, which is organised by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) alongside the Singapore Furniture Industries Council and the Textile and Fashion Federation. Adding on to the list of organisers is Association of Singapore Attractions, a first-timer to the board.
The initiative hopes to give local brands a boost in their business amidst the economic downturn. Since the pandemic swept the shores of Singapore, retail sales (excluding motor vehicles) fell by 7.7%. However, after the circuit breaker restrictions were eased, the sales increased to 19.5%.
Associate Professor of Marketing Education at the Singapore Management University, Dr Seshan Ramaswami has said that the virtual furniture showroom is an “innovative experiment”.
But, at the end of the day, it boils down to whether the eShop can persuade consumers to purchase furniture in their homes via a virtual store.
The virtual event will start on Wednesday, 9 September all the way to 10 October on GoSpree.sg.
Shoppers can expect to receive daily discounts along with downloadable coupons for shoppers to use either online or via physical in store purchases on the GoSpree website.
To promote further participation, it will also host a weekly Facebook live stream on Wednesday where big personalities in the industry such as Jade Seah will promote products and attractions.
In addition to the above, an ecatalogue highlighting deals for the week will be released every Friday.
Mr Amos Tan, a senior lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Business, shared that there is more for GoSpree to do in order to stand out from popular shopping sites such as Lazada and Shopee.
Experts have also said that there is more that can be done for the event to be appealing and successful.
In an effort to drive domestic spending, nearly 400 home-grown and global brands will offer deals on the GoSpree platform.
