WhereIsWhere to help Singapore Brick&Mortar businesses attract customers

By Digital News Asia March 2, 2018

Targets retailers and mall operators in its initial roll-out
Enables brands to push live updates and flash campaigns towards consumers nearby

WhereIsWhere to help Singapore Brick&Mortar businesses attract customers

WHEREISWHERE, Singapore’s first free marketing platform helping offline retailers bring nearby customers to their stores, has launched. With three clicks, users will be able to discover what to eat, shop and do based on two factors: where they are and when they search on WhereIsWhere’s mobile app.

In its initial roll-out, WhereIsWhere targets retailers and mall operators: it is already working with Wisteria Mall, a community mall slated to open by the third quarter of this year, to help drive store traffic to its mall and over 100 of its tenant brands.

Retail is a key industry for Singapore – approximately 22,000 establishments account for almost 1.4% of Singapore’s GDP and 3% of its total employment.

Brick&Mortar businesses, however, are losing their market share as consumers shift to e-commerce platforms. To help these retailers become more discoverable, WhereIsWhere has developed an effective and affordable marketing solution for targeting and converting nearby consumers.

“Retailers today face real challenges and frustrations, from high rental prices to the constant fear of losing market share to e-commerce,” said Terence Mak, CEO and founder at WhereIsWhere.

“Brick&Mortar businesses never really had a platform for differentiating offerings and driving in-store traffic. WhereIsWhere aims to level the retail industry playing field through effective and affordable targeting that enables consumers to better learn about great deals and happenings around them.”

Driving mobile-first shoppers to offline stores

With over 80% of Singaporeans using smartphones, WhereIsWhere allows offline businesses to cater to mobile-first consumers by enabling brands to push live updates and flash campaigns towards consumers nearby. For users, they can instantly find what to eat, shop and do based on search parameters.

Businesses can register their listings and activities on WhereIsWhere for free. With WhereIsWhere’s interactive map, businesses can mark their exact location and easily drive nearby traffic to their storefronts.

Businesses can also push unlimited marketing messages on WhereIsWhere’s self-servicing dashboard, which allows them to design and run campaigns across multiple outlet locations in real-time, for a fixed monthly fee of S$100 per outlet.

In WhereIsWhere’s pre-launch phase, malls and merchants may even avail of a referral programme, which entitles them to free marketing campaign credits after successfully inviting partners such as merchants or mall developers on board.

Wisteria Mall and Old Chang Kee tap WhereIsWhere

Prior to its official launch, WhereIsWhere has expanded its merchant and mall network with the on-boarding of Wisteria Mall and Old Chang Kee, one of Singapore’s most recognised household brands.

“We see lots of potential in this mobile application and intend to work closely with WhereIsWhere to drive higher shoppers’ traffic and sales conversion for all our 80 outlets across the island,” said William Lim, managing director at Old Chang Kee.

Andrew Tan, director of Wisteria Mall Management, also said: “As a community mall with limited advertising budget, Wisteria Mall, along with its tenants, will be happy to adopt this innovative, cost-effective medium to reach out to our target audience within the primary catchment area.”

Built by retailers for retailers

WhereIsWhere is founded by tech entrepreneur Mak. Joining Mak at the helm are retail industry veterans Michael Leong and Patrick Lum, who bring with them over 70 years of combined retail experience across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“As consumers shift to online and mobile, brick-and-mortar players should leverage new solutions to deliver exceptional experiences for discerning consumers,” said Leong, industry advisor at WhereIsWhere.

“Think of a mobile map app, but for shopping deals, businesses and activities nearby consumers want – that’s how WhereIsWhere aims to revolutionise the Singapore retail scene and consumer shopping behaviour.”