Page 14 - Berita Sunway - Issue 71

Features
ELIVERING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

D

he year 2020 had been a Sunway Malls was the first mall to introduce a DIGITAL INTEGRATION: A
challenging one for retailers, with parking guiding system, a wireless alarm system in DELICATE BALANCE
the Malaysia Retailers Association the carpark, a mobile app for navigation and most
T (MRA) describing the first half of the recently, the Licence Plate Registration system for The pandemic has accelerated the pace of
year as the worst period for retailers since 1987. cashless and ticketless parking. digitalisation, but businesses are still trying to find
that balance between digitalisation and physical
The government’s bid to stem the spread of the Sunway Malls’ digital transformation plan interaction, Chan said. “Digitalisation is an
COVID-19 pandemic with the Movement Control involves six broad areas – Shopper Management, important facet but the need for physical interaction
Order (MCO) in March last year has had devastating Shopper Experience, online-to-offline (O2O), and socialisation must also be considered especially
effects on retail sales. Tenant Mix Management, Trade Mix Management so for these industries, such as retail,” he said.
and Mall Health. There are also sub-categories such
Reduced tourist arrivals, lower footfall at as Customer Relationship Management, Point of During the MCO, Sunway Malls launched
shopping malls, and retailers operating at a lower Sales, Footfall Tracking and Big Data Analysis. technological initiatives to prepare for the eventual
capacity due to social distancing measures has led reopening of malls. Among them include digital
to an estimated 51,000 stores, or 15% of Malaysia’s “Digital transformation for us means providing thermal scanners at mall entrances and the ‘order
total retail supply, to shutter from the beginning of convenience and delivering experiential and collect’ service where customers could pick up
MCO in March 2020 to January this year. consumption to our stakeholders, to build items that were purchased online. Sunway Pyramid
relationship and loyalty by increasing collaborated with logistics delivery provider Mat
Going digital is no longer an option for productivity, efficiency and curated experiences. Despatch to open a temporary online store while
retailers, as a growing number of consumers have Digital transformation bridges the divide Sunway Velocity Mall deployed a Facebook store to
shifted to online shopping during the pandemic. between us and stakeholders so we can deliver to assist business partners and tenants with an online
their expectations,” said Sunway Malls and Theme presence.
Fortunately for Sunway Malls, the group has always Parks CEO HC Chan.
been ahead of the curve, embarking on a digital The aim of digitalisation is to create a more
transformation process as far back as a decade ago. convenient, efficient, and safer environment for
shoppers, said Chan.

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